A deal to bring Colorado River water to Native American communities in northern Arizona, where a third of homes lack running water, is being blocked by neighboring states, caught up in a broader battle over how to divide the dwindling river. The largest tribal water rights settlement in U.S. history — the product of decades of negotiations to secure water for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe — was on the verge of being realized before Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming stepped in to oppose it being codified by Congress. “We have significant unresolved concerns with the legislation that may affect each of our states’ rights to and interests in Colorado River water,” negotiators for Utah and Wyoming wrote in March to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in a previously unreported letter. 

Other Colorado River management news:

• Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix): Water woes continue as funding for statewide solutions dwindles
• CBS Colorado: Federally imposed temporary solution to Colorado River Compact disagreement grows more likely by the day
• The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo.): Colorado River experts say agriculture must make permanent cuts to water use
• Aspen Public Radio (Colo.): Climate, water, and public lands top of mind for Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial candidates, but how different are they?
• KUSA (Denver, Colo.): Full interview: Lead negotiator for Colorado in the Upper Colorado River Commission, Becky Mitchell