Washington, March 12
More than a century after federal law recognised that Native American reservations carried reserved rights to water, senators returned to a question that remains unresolved for many tribal families in Arizona: why do thousands of homes still lack running water?
At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Wednesday (local time), lawmakers examined a sweeping settlement intended to resolve decades of disputes over water in north-eastern Arizona involving the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.
The legislation, S.953 -- the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 -- would ratify a negotiated agreement among the tribes, the state of Arizona, and more than 20 other parties. It would also provide federal funding of about $5 billion to build pipelines, wells, and other infrastructure to deliver reliable drinking water to tribal communities.
For the tribal leaders who travelled to Washington to testify, the debate was less about legal doctrine than daily survival.
“I also grew up without running water,” Buu, the president of the Navajo Nation, told senators. He described families hauling water in buckets over long distances, sometimes travelling more than 30 miles round trip to meet basic needs.
The Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous nation in the United States, serves more than 420,000 tribal members, he said. Yet roughly one-third of households on the reservation still lack running water.
“Congress must act to end the water crisis,” Nygren said.
The proposed settlement seeks to resolve long-running claims tied to the Colorado River system and provide certainty to both tribal and non-tribal water users across Arizona and the wider basin.
Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who introduced the legislation, said the agreement was the result of years of negotiation involving tribal governments, state officials, and regional stakeholders.
“Access to clean, reliable water shouldn’t be a question in the United States,” Kelly said, noting that the Navajo, Hopi, and San Juan Southern Paiute communities all face serious water shortages.
But while senators expressed broad support for resolving the dispute, the cost of the settlement loomed over the hearing.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the committee’s chair, said negotiated settlements have long been the preferred method for resolving tribal water claims because they provide tribes with the resources needed to actually use their water.
Such agreements deliver what many Western lawmakers call “wet water, not just paper rights”, she said.
At the same time, Murkowski cautioned that the estimated federal cost -- roughly $5 billion -- arrives as Congress is already weighing several other tribal water settlements.
The issue, she said, is not only authorising agreements but also ensuring the federal government follows through with funding.
Vice Chairman Brian Schatz of Hawaii argued that failing to act would carry its own costs.
“The tribes have held up their end of the bargain. It is long past time for Congress to hold up ours,” he said.
Scott Cameron, a senior Interior Department official responsible for water and science programmes, told lawmakers that the administration supports negotiated settlements to avoid prolonged litigation.
“Settlements can resolve long-standing claims, provide certainty to water users, promote tribal sovereignty and self-sufficiency, and support the development of water infrastructure,” Cameron said.
But he also acknowledged the scale of the financial challenge.
“We do have real concerns with the overall cost of the settlement,” Cameron said, adding that the department hoped to work with lawmakers and tribes to find ways to reduce costs while preserving the core goals of the bill.
For tribal leaders, however, the legislation carries significance beyond infrastructure.
Johnny Lehi Jr., vice president of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, said the bill would also ratify a long-standing land treaty and establish a permanent reservation for his people.
“It is the difference between waiting another generation and finally coming home,” he said.
Lamar Keevama, chairman of the Hopi Tribe, said about 30 per cent of residents on the Hopi reservation also lack running water and must haul water to their homes.
The settlement, he said, would fund critical projects -- including wells, pipelines, treatment systems, and storage facilities -- necessary to bring safe water to the community.
