Title: GROUND WATER RIGHTS AND THE ARIZONA WATER SETTLEMENT ACT 2004 Rosalind Bark, Ph.D. Native American Rights Fund and Western States Water Council 11th Symposium on the Settlement of Indian Reserved Water Rights Claims Ferndale, Washington August 24-26,
1GROUND WATER RIGHTSAND THE ARIZONA WATER
SETTLEMENT ACT 2004Rosalind Bark,
Ph.D.Native American Rights Fund and Western
States Water Council 11th Symposium on the
Settlement of Indian Reserved Water Rights
ClaimsFerndale, WashingtonAugust 24-26, 2009
2whatever particular sources each reservation had
at hand
- 24- max. 29 in build- out
3GRIC Settlement Parties
4Near Reservation AMA
- Florence and Coolidge no new wells in zone
- Arizona Water Co. strict limits new wells in
zone - Southside Replenishment District
- RWCD limit pumping to 8,000 afy
- MSIDD in 1996 agreement limit pumping to 23,000
-30,000 afy s.t. cost/availability CAP Excess
5Southside MI Groundwater Protection Zone
- Replenishment
- f) measured groundwater use
- if exceed set limits in Eastern and Western
zones in situ - state or individual responsibility
6Gila River Maintenance Area and Impact Zone
- New INA
- water budgets for BHP Copper, AWC, Phelps Dodge
, Winklemann, Safford, Duncan, Mammoth and
Kearny - Safe Harbors in San Pedro Impact Zones
- new lg industrial use within 3 mi up to 250 afy
for total 1,000 afy - MI and domestic highest use in period
1997-2001. - domestic within ¼ mi 2 afy max limit total 1,000
afy - Cochise MI and domestic only
72003 Aquifer Water Level Elevations and Underflow
Conditions
19.5 MAF storage to depth of 1,000 ft
8Current Land- and Groundwater Use
- Average last 20 years 80,000-120,000 afy
9Future Concerns Overdrafting and Subsidence?
- Safe-yield 128,900 afy
- Budget 156,700 afy
2.2 MAF lost to system between 1900 and 2003
10Future Concern Water Quality?
11Tohono Oodham Nation
- Total water budget 72,000 afy
- Of which, 18 or 13,200 afy, is ground water
- Of which, 10,000 afy San Xavier Reservation
3,200 afy eastern Schuk Toak District - Buffer zone non-exempt wells within 2 mi of
boundary must pass an analysis and be approved - Caps on FICO pumping
- Up to 10,000 afy CAP-groundwater exchange with
Asarco Mission Complex - Underground Storage and Recovery Projects and
creation of storage credits Title III, Sec
308(e)-(f) s.t. limits e.g. San Xavier District
50,000 af over 10 year period or 10,000 af max in
one year. Can sell credits off-Reservation
anywhere in state Sec 309(b)
12Implications
- Future settlements
- Ground water is an important water source in
semi-arid AZ - Bridge source
- New regulatory zones to ensure on-Reservation
ground water rights the ground water rights of
off-Reservation pumpers will be restricted - kept whole replenishment provided by state
(mostly) - AZ-wide ground water management
- Watershed management AMA non-AMA
- Buffer zones ? municipal providers wells
- Strict measurement and replenishment based on
pumpig - In situ replenishment ? local area management
- Indian firming program ? brought forward priority
question of CAP Excess uses
13References
- Pub L 108-451
- ADWR (2006). Technical Assessment of the Gila
River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement.
In re The General Adjudication of the Gila River
System and Source. Arizona Department of Water
Resources, August 23, 2006. http//www.azwater.gov
/dwr/Content/Hot_Topics/AZ_Water_Settlements/GRIC_
files/Technical_Assessment_GRIC_Water_Rights_Settl
ement_2006.pdf