Deal assures running water to Navajos

Tens of thousands of Navajos will finally have running water in their homes under a national settlement that quantifies the tribe's water rights in the lower Colorado River basin, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday.

Salazar and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. signed the San Juan Navajo Water Rights Settlement during the Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference in Las Vegas.

The agreement attempts to resolve a 142-year-old dispute over water distribution. The legislation recognizes about 600,000 acre-feet per year that would go to the Navajos for agriculture, industrial, municipal, domestic and stock watering purposes.

An acre-foot can meet the annual water needs of up to two average Las Vegas Valley homes.

Nevada water managers had intervened in the legal action that led to the settlement out of concern that granting water to the tribe could jeopardize the state's precious share of the Colorado.

But John Entsminger, legal council for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said the tribe will take its water from existing river allocations so no additional strain is placed on the drought-stricken river system. "We feel our interests are protected," Entsminger said.

Federal officials say the settlement will provide a long-term clean water supply that will improve health conditions on the reservation and pave the way for future economic development in northwestern New Mexico.

"Because of these settlements now, we are going to bring water into the dwellings of my people," Shirley said.

Salazar said the contract will transform the lives of people who often must haul water to their homes in trucks.

The water agreement was heralded as a symbol of cooperation during the Las Vegas conference that drew 800 attendees.

The settlement will direct water from New Mexico's share of the river to the tribe.

New Mexico and the tribe signed the agreement in 2005, but Congress had to enact legislation to implement the settlement. The bill initially stalled over concern for the nearly $900 million cost.

The series of water lines that are expected to deliver clean water to 80,000 residents on the eastern side of the reservation aren't complete.

Proponents say the lack of potable water has made it nearly impossible for many Navajos to pass the poverty level. Critics say the Navajo Nation would receive a large amount of water to serve a small population.

Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report.