The Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Council voted unanimously on June 26 to approve the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement, an agreement negotiated with Verde Valley communities and other stakeholders to bring new water supplies to the Verde Valley and settle the Nation’s longstanding water rights claims.
The Nation achieved this historic agreement after decades of negotiation among multiple parties, including local communities, the Salt River Project, the state of Arizona and the United States, according to a press release.
“This is a critical milestone in ensuring the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s water future and protecting the Verde River,” Tribal Council Chairwoman Tanya Lewis said. “To reach a settlement, the Nation worked with our neighboring communities, the state of Arizona, the Salt River Project and other stakeholders to attain agreement on a settlement that not only protects the Nation’s water future, but also ensures the benefits of the settlement will help support a sustainable water future for the entire Verde Valley. These negotiations were difficult and required compromise on all sides, but we are so glad to have achieved this long overdue strategic goal of the Nation. At this moment in our history, we remember and honor the former chairmen, chairwomen and tribal council members who tirelessly advocated and worked for this day to come, and, for that, we are extremely grateful.”
The approval of the settlement paves the way for Congress to introduce and enact legislation to permanently resolve the Nation’s water rights claims in the Verde River Watershed and provide critical infrastructure that will bring a renewable water resource to the Verde Valley.
The centerpiece of the settlement involves construction of a pipeline over existing U.S. Forest Service roads from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir on the Mogollon Rim to the Verde Valley that will deliver water to the Nation for treatment in a modern surface water drinking plant and distribution to the Nation’s reservation communities.
This imported source of water will allow the Nation to limit future groundwater pumping, which is a key factor in protecting flows in the Verde River, ensuring the continuation of important cultural resources for the people of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, maintaining the essential character of the Verde Valley as defined by the river and driving tourism and economic development for the entire Verde Valley.
For more information, contact Lewis at (928) 567-1021.
