President Biden signs CRIT water bill into law

President Biden has signed a bill into law that will allow the Colorado River Indian Tribes to lease some of its water rights to other entities that need it. The bill had previously passed both chambers of Congress.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act of 2021(S.3308) was introduced to the Senate by Senator Mark Kelly. It was co-sponsored by Senator Kyrsten Sinema. The legislation clears the way for CRIT to lease water that was previously used on the reservation. This authority would enable the Tribe to allocate its water resources to protect natural habitats along the Colorado River and provide a short-term water supply for entities experiencing drought or shortages across the state, also creating additional revenue for CRIT.

“On behalf of the Tribal Council and the members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, I want to thank everyone who made this law a reality,” CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores said. “Our people spoke, and Congress and President Biden acted. It’s now time to get to work to provide for the membership by leasing some of our water for much needed drought relief and conservation to preserve the life of the Colorado River.”

Overall water usage on the Colorado River will not increase because of CRIT water leases. CRIT is able to provide the water by fallowing farmland, changing crop patterns on existing agricultural lands, and improving water delivery systems. CRIT has actively pursued and been awarded several grants to improve water delivery systems for more efficient water use, which the Tribe says will allow improvements to the canal system in the Valley.

CRIT has the first priority decreed water right to divert 719,248 acre-feet per year to serve lands in Arizona and California, a senior water right that is larger on paper than is allocated to the state of Nevada.

“Arizona is dealing with the real-time effects of drought as water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell continue to decline,” said Senator Mark Kelly last year. “Our bill will help lessen the impacts of Colorado River drought restrictions in the coming years, while at the same time enabling the Colorado River Indian Tribes full exercise of their water rights.”

“Our common sense legislation protects and strengthens Arizona’s water security, while boosting economic opportunities for the Colorado River Indian Tribes,” said Senator Sinema.

The legislation was written in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the United States and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Last year the Arizona Department of Water Resources hosted a series of forums to get public input. Supporters include the Water for Arizona Coalition, the Salt River Project, the Central Arizona Project, the National Audubon Society, the cities of Phoenix, Gilbert, and Peoria as well as the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, which serves 10 municipalities, and Arizona House Speaker Russell Bowers.

CRIT voluntarily put water leasing on the CRIT Tribal ballot in January 2019 to give its members the final say. Nearly two-thirds voted in favor of allowing the Tribal Council to pursue the legislation.