Tribal water infrastructure needs more than one-time fix, senators told
The infusion of federal money for infrastructure projects is a welcome first step toward fixing deep problems with water systems on tribal lands, but it’s only a first step, an Arizona official testified Wednesday [Sept. 25]. Brian Bennon, director of the tribal water department at the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, said tribes need to make sure they have funding for operation and maintenance of the systems to keep them going … Bennon was joined by Ken Norton, director of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Environmental Protection Agency, and Jola WallowingBull, director of the Northern Arapaho Tribal Engineering Department, to testify on the problems that come with underfunding of Native water systems.