Blog: Agriculture and water use on California’s tribal lands
In a report and fact sheet released last month, we analyzed the development and current status of Tribal water rights in California. … Of the 103 federally recognized Indian reservations in California, only about 20 consistently host irrigated agriculture, and most of these are relatively small-scale (less than 100 acres). In an average water year, about 15,800 acres are irrigated on Tribal reservations (about 0.2% of statewide irrigated acreage), including by non-Tribal residents. Irrigated acreage tends to decline slightly during drought years and rebounds during wet and normal water years. Water demands for this agriculture amount to about 60,000–70,000 acre-feet per year (about 0.2% of total statewide applied water).
