Diné water settlement stalls over state objections
WINDOW ROCK
The Navajo Nation’s effort to secure its Colorado River water rights in northeastern Arizona has stalled in Congress after officials from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico asked lawmakers to change or delay the settlement bill.
Representatives from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico submitted March testimony to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on S. 953, the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025. The bill would resolve water claims held by the Navajo Nation, the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes.
None of the testimony called for rejecting the bill. Officials from each state supported negotiated tribal water settlements but raised concerns about a provision that would allow the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe to lease part of their settlement water while they build infrastructure to use their full allocations.
At issue is Arizona’s 50,000-acre-foot upper basin allocation. Under S. 953, the Navajo Nation would receive 44,700 acre-feet a year from that allocation in northeastern Arizona.
To read the full article, please see the July 9, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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