Actionable science, Water resources
Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study
Case Study by the Conservation and Adaptation Resources Toolbox
Status
Completed

Location

States

Nevada

Ecosystem

River/stream

Subject

Cultural resources
Economics
Partnerships
Rivers and streams
Water budget
Water rights
Watershed

Introduction

A pump on a river pushing water out
Image Details

The Ten Tribes Partnership (Partnership) was formed in 1992 by ten federally recognized tribes with federal Indian reserved water rights or claims in the Colorado River or its tributaries. Five of the member tribes are located in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Nation, and Navajo Nation) and the other five are in the Lower Colorado River Basin (Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Quechan Indian Tribe, and Cocopah Indian Tribe).

Partnership Tribes hold reserved water rights and unresolved claims to divert nearly 2.8 million acre-feet of water per year in the Colorado River or its tributaries. These rights are, in general, the most senior water rights in the Basin and therefore some of the most protected from shortage. Partnership Tribes currently divert nearly 1.4 million acre-feet of water per year, almost all of which is used for agriculture.

In 2018, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), in collaboration with the Partnership, completed the Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study (Study). The Study documents how Partnership Tribes currently use water, projects how future water development could occur, and describes the potential effects of tribal water development on the Colorado River System. The Study also identifies challenges related to the use of tribal water and explores opportunities that provide a wide range of benefits to both Partnership Tribes and other water users. Over the past twenty years, collaboration between Reclamation, federally recognized tribes, the Basin States, and others has resulted in significant success in collaboratively addressing water resources challenges across the Basin.

Key Issues Addressed

In 2012, Reclamation, in partnership with the Colorado River Basin statesand in collaboration with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, published the most comprehensive study of future Basin water supply and demand ever undertaken. The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (Basin Study) defined current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the Basin over the next 50 years and developed and analyzed options and strategies to resolve those imbalances. The Basin Study confirmed that, in the absence of timely action, there are likely to be significant shortfalls between projected water supplies and demands in the Basin. 

The Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study builds on the scientific foundation of the Basin Study and advances critical information about Partnership Tribes beyond the limited assessment of tribal water in the Basin Study. Reclamation did not intend for the Basin Study to be used to assess the future impacts of tribal water use in the Basin. Moreover, the Basin Study did not fully account for tribal water demand, reflect the potential use of tribal water presently used by others, or show the potential impact on the Basin water supply if a substantial amount of the presently unused or unquantified tribal water is used by the tribal water rights holders by 2060. In recognition of the importance in bringing the tribal perspective to bear in furthering the understanding of these important matters, Reclamation and the Partnership committed to developing and completing the Study. 

Project Goals

  • Improve the understanding of the role of tribal water throughout the Colorado River System using existing data
  • Enhance the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) to improve its simulation of tribal water use
  • Characterize current tribal water use by each Partnership Tribe
  • Characterize a range of future tribal water development for each Partnership Tribe
  • Identify potential future effects to specific users, or groups of users, presently relying on unused tribal water
  • Identify tribal water development challenges both specific to Partnership Tribes and in general Basin-wide
  • Identify opportunities for Partnership Tribes that can help reduce future uncertainty and future water imbalances

Project Highlights

Stronger Partnerships: The partnerships forged and strengthened during this Study will prove to be critical in order for the significant challenges ahead to be collaboratively addressed.

  • Importance of Partnerships: Recognizing the importance of furthering the understanding of tribal water (both currently and in the decades ahead), Reclamation and the Partnership collaborated to document Partnership Tribes’ water use and potential future water development to better facilitate planning and decision-making throughout the Basin. The Study strengthens a Department of the Interior commitment to address water issues facing tribes and recognizes that the Colorado River is an essential foundation for the physical, economic, and cultural sustenance of tribes in the Basin.
  • Scenario Planning: Using a scenario planning process, the Study documented each Partnership Tribes’ anticipated development and use of reserved water rights and identified a range of trends for full tribal water development. The trends indicated the anticipated rate at which such development might proceed.
  • Effects of Tribal Water Development: The effects of the Partnership Tribes’ water development within the Basin was analyzed using Reclamation’s long-term planning model, Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS). The goal of the modeling was to provide a sound technical basis and projection of the likely future scenarios for tribal development in the Basin.
  • Tribal Participation: The Study was conducted in a true collaborative manner where the Partnership Tribes’ designated technical staff participated in every step of the analyses. The report is unique in that it documents each tribe’s story of their existing water use and future water development. The Partnership Tribes collectively identified their water development challenges as well as several opportunities and potential future actions to overcome them. 

Lessons Learned

A field of planted trees
Image Details

The Tribal Water Study was an important step in the understanding of Colorado River uncertainties and the exploration of opportunities that provide a wide-range of benefits to both Partnership Tribes and other water users to help meet the significant challenges ahead. Further, the Study revealed disparities among the Partnership Tribes, and between the Partnership Tribes and other water users in the Basin. These disparities have created barriers to the full development of federal Indian reserved water rights that include access to funding and capital markets for development, the lack of— and poor condition of— existing infrastructure, the number of tribal members and reservation residents without access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation, and legal restrictions. Some tribal lands and many people living on the tribal reservations do not have water security.

Currently, none of the Partnership Tribes has the basic infrastructure or legal and administrative flexibility to fully use or realize the full economic value of its reserved water rights. The Study demonstrates the need to develop flexible mechanisms for the use of tribal water throughout the Basin, such as off-reservation use of tribal water, particularly in times of shortage. Without such flexibility, other water users who currently rely on unused tribal water may be required to adjust to reduced supplies as tribes increase or fully develop their reserved water rights. 

The Basin Study (Reclamation, 2012) confirmed that, in the absence of timely action, there are likely to be significant shortfalls between projected water supplies and demands in the Basin in coming decades. The full development of reserved water rights for tribal benefit will widen this gap; however, modeling using the CRSS indicates that the effect of tribal water development in the Basin is not as significant as full development of the state apportionments in the Upper Basin and the projected effect of climate variability. Further, the Partnership Tribes are committed to – and will – develop their water resources and explore opportunities to partner with the federal government, states and other water users as opportunities arise. 

Next Steps

  • Identify potential future actions to fulfill Reclamation’s commitments to increase opportunities for tribes to develop, manage, and protect their water and related resources 
  • Identify near-term activities to help address tribal water challenges in the Colorado River Basin

Funding Partners

  • Member Tribes of the Ten Tribes Partnership
  • Bureau of Reclamation

Resources

Contact

CART Lead Author

  • Nicole Williams, CART Student Intern, University of Arizona

Suggested Citation

Williams, N., Nelson, K., Adams, P. (2021). “Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study.” CART. Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/project/colorado-river-basin-water-study.

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