Three bills that would improve access to water for some tribes in Arizona amid an unrelenting drought are now poised for President Joe Biden’s desk.
The U.S. House approved the legislation on Thursday, just a few days after the U.S. Senate did. One measure would give the Colorado River Indian Tribes the ability to lease water from the Colorado River in Arizona.
Another would settle the Hualapai Tribe’s claims to water from the river and provide federal funding for infrastructure to deliver it.
A third bill would amend a 2010 water rights settlement for the White Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona to authorize more federal funding for a rural water system and dam.