Arizona Water Resource Vol. 1 No. 5 (June 1992)

Abstract

The Tohono O'odham (formerly Papago) Nation and the U.S. government filed suit in 1975 against groundwater pumpers in Pima County, seeking tribal water rights under the Winters doctrine. After extensive negotiations, Congress passed the Southern Arizona Water Resources Settlement Act (SAWRSA) in 1982, which called for the Nation to give up its Winters claim in exchange for 66,000 a-f of CAP water, 10,000 a-f of groundwater rights, and financial assistance in putting the water to use. Ten years and millions of dollars later, no water has been delivered, no long-term supply has been identified, no consensus has been reached on how to use the water, the lawsuit has not been dismissed, and Congress is being asked to amend SAWRSA. The most significant change from a decade ago is that today's conflict is not between the Nation and outsiders, but rather is within the Nation.