Federal settlements give tribes a share of water rights

Water has filled a massive new reservoir to the brim — the federal government's first major project in 15 years that could help slake the arid West's thirsts. But the $513 million Nighthorse reservoir in south west Colorado will not supply any of the dozens of sprawling Western cities seeking water. Instead, the 123,541 acre-feet of water stored here — more than Denver's Cheesman and Gross reservoirs combined — belongs mostly to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes. The project reflects a quiet but substantial shift of control over a crucial resource as the federal government tries to turn a new page with tribes. Six recent water settlements have forced the government to commit $2.04 billion for dam, pipeline and reservoir projects — giving sovereign tribes from Montana to New Mexico control over 1.5 million acre-feet of new water each year. Tribes have used lawsuits and hard bargaining to assert water rights. Now, with many Western rivers already over-subscribed, tribes are in a position to play a greater role in development...more