Gila River Tribe Announces Far-Reaching Conservation Plans

The Gila River Indian Community recently publicized its plans for the next three years to conserve a large percentage of its water supplies.  An announcement that was made in August indicating that the tribe was pulling out of all conservation efforts, has since been reversed.  Now, the tribe is asking for compensation from a newly-introduced federal program designed to provide incentives for reduced water usage. The 750,000 acre-feet of water that the tribe plans to save over the next three years will be utilized to help top-up Lake Mead as the country’s biggest reservoir is currently at its lowest ever with a significant imbalance between supply and demand along the mighty Colorado River, depleting the reservoir even more. 

Various Conservation Plans were Fielded

Various proposals for water conservation plans were filed soon after there was a failure to cut down on water usage by states that are reliant on the Colorado River. Thanks to the design of the present-day water management system, drought does not have to halt the use of water. That said, it should encourage conservation of our most precious resource.  Users can expect to receive compensation to the value of between $330 and $400 for every acre-foot saved. In order to qualify for the compensation, the users have to provide insight into how they are planning to make cutbacks and measure their efforts. All compensation will be an expense of the Inflation Reduction Act which has set aside $4 million for drought mitigation efforts. 

Conservation Efforts are Resumed

Now that a definitive price tag has been assigned to conserve water, Gila River conservation efforts are being resumed according to Sarah Porter, the director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy. The lawyer representing the Gila River Indian Community, Jason Hauter, confirmed that the tribe was motivated by the updated conservation plan that was released. The new draft of the plan indicated that more parties were not only acknowledging the severity of the problem but are also actively trying to do something about it. Hauter, who is a member of the community himself, further said that the tribe was particularly impressed by the shift towards providing funding for long-term projects focus on the upgrade of infrastructure. 

The Tribe’s Contribution is Considerable 

The tribe’s 750,000 acre-feet contribution towards the conservation effort is considerable.  To put it into perspective, three entities are located in Southern California, each pledged to conserve 400,000 acre-feet of water every year. When asked about the tribe’s conservation efforts, Porter said: “The Gila River Indian Community deciding to offer to conserve substantial amounts of water means that we have a better opportunity to keep negotiations on track to get to the deal that we need to get to.” She continued: “Shifting the momentum and making a decision to move in the direction of getting to a deal is a leadership move, and I would say kind of a morally positive move because getting to a deal is really critical for everyone who shares Colorado River water.”

Climate change has placed extreme pressure on the country’s water supply. Thanks to the concerted efforts of users, including that of the Gila River Indian Community, significant pressure can be taken off the water system. 

By Kaylee Carter