Water Rights

Idaho’s water regulators have redirected $10 million toward Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer recharge projects after Gov. Brad Little promised the money to farmers and ranchers last month.

Decades of drought and overpumping are draining groundwater tables across the West. Now, some states are buying farmers’ water rights to free up supplies – and plenty of farmers are ready to sell.

After a couple of dry seasons, Idaho water managers say they’re once again starting to put back more water into the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

Idaho water law does not require obtaining a water right for drilling one of these wells and allows the well to pump up to 13,000 gallons each day for a half-acre of land.

The dispute is over water rights that the federal government holds for livestock on public lands.

For years, drought and development in the West have caused water shortages for Native American tribes. Now, a new institute aims to give tribes resources and training to advocate for their water rights.

The federal government is spending another $327 million to help fulfill water rights settlements with Native American tribes, including several in the Mountain West.

For 40 years, a tribe in our region has been working to access the water they feel they’re owed by the federal government. And those efforts are more urgent than ever as climate change and development continue to affect their water supplies.

For 40 years, the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico has been working to access the water they feel they’re owed by the federal government. And those efforts are more urgent than ever as climate change and development continue to affect their water supplies.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on Nov. 16 on a variety of tribal water rights settlement bills, including two that would impact Indigenous communities in the Mountain West.