The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a critical water rights case in the arid Southwest. The Navajo Nation extends into three states, making the solution more complex.
NAVAJO MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — States that rely on water from the
The high court will hold oral arguments Monday in a case with critical implications for how water from the drought-stricken Colorado River is shared and the extent of theA win for the Navajo Nation won't directly result in more water for the roughly 175,000 people who live on the largest reservation in the U.S. But it's a piece of what has been a multi-faceted approach over decades to obtain a basic need.
Extending water lines to the sparsely populated sections of the 27,000 square-mile reservation that spans three states is difficult and costly. But tribal officials say additional water supplies would help ease the burden and create equity. It's a legal fight that resonates with tribes across the U.S., said Dylan Hedden-Nicely, the director of the Native American Law Program at the University of Idaho and an attorney representing tribal organizations that filed a brief in support of the Navajo Nation.
The Colorado River in the upper River Basin is pictured in Lees Ferry, Ariz., on May 29, 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a critical water rights case in the water-scarce Southwest. The federal government says it has helped the tribe get water from the Colorado River's tributaries, but no treaty or law forces officials to address the tribe's general water needs. The Interior Department declined to comment on the pending case.
Arizona, Nevada and California contend the Navajo Nation is making an end run around another Supreme Court case that divvied up water in the Colorado River's Lower Basin.
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