Meeting of Colorado River users wraps with focus on Mexico, tribes

Jacob Walters

LAS VEGAS (CN) — The Colorado River Water Users Association concluded its three-day conference at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on Friday with the needs and desires of Colorado River tribes and Mexico taking center stage.

Over 40 million people use the river, including the most vulnerable people, and the conference was geared toward finding solutions to conserving water for future generations.

"We face two challenges: water scarcity and getting to a consensus," said David Palumbo, deputy commissioner of operations for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. "We have 30 Native American tribes, seven states and two countries to work with."

The Colorado River watershed is divided in two — the lower basin consists of Arizona, California and Nevada and the upper basin includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Mexico also gets a share of the water from the drought-stricken river.

"We knew we would be here a month ago," said Tom Buscahtzke, Arizona's principal Colorado River negotiator. "No progress was made. We didn't walk out of the room with another meeting."

With contentious negotiations came higher stakes, with the 30 Native American tribes and Mexico at the forefront of the discussion. The water supply requires solid investment from different parties, including the United States, which saw the Biden administration investing $65 million on rural water projects in 2024.

"It's important for the United States to work with Mexico to find helpful solutions," said Adriana Resendez Maldonado, Mexico commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission. The commission seeks to offer binational solutions to issues from different boundary and water agreements.

"We must demonstrate the need for structure and greater efficiency with the water," Resendez Maldonado added.

Conservation and efficiency must be the name of the game, given the rapid growth of Tijuana. The border city's population in 2024 reached 2.297 million, a 1.64% increase from 2023. And manufacturing companies like Hyundai and Samsung have settled in Tijuana, adding to concerns about the city's future water supply.

"Tijuana is looking at turning wastewater into potable water," said Maria-Elena Giner, U.S. Commissioner for the International Boundary and Water Commission. "Diversifying water sources is important."

For the Native American tribes, the consequences are much more dire. The Ten Tribes hold rights to more than 20% of the Colorado River's current estimated flow. However, other tribes lack access to running water, which they use for commercial, domestic, cultural, and spiritual purposes.

Ongoing development and insufficient supplies aren't the only problem the Colorado River Water Users Association faces with these groups. Continuous dry spells and less runoff plague the watershed.

"The scary issue we face is getting good precipitation," Buschatzke said. "Water users who have lower priorities are giving up water to the tribes."

Twelve percent of tribes lack access to running water, according to Karletta Chief, director of the Indigenous Resilience Center at the University of Arizona. That raises the importance of preserving the Colorado River, specifically for groups more vulnerable to not having accessible water.

"The Colorado River is our lifeline," said Camille Calimlim Touton, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. "The river demands nothing less than the best of us."

The Colorado River Water Users Association concluded its three-day conference with solutions that will result in conservation of the Colorado River. However, tougher decisions remain on the horizon.

"Politicians must make these tough decisions," Buschatzke said. "We struggle with tough decisions already in Arizona."