• Tom Buschatzke participated in World Water Week in August.
• The panel focused on indigenous water rights, especially for tribes.
• Key speakers included tribal leaders and federal officials.
• The event emphasized the importance of tribal inclusion in water decisions.

September 19, 2024 — Yesterday, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) announced that its Director, Tom Buschatzke, participated in World Water Week, held in Stockholm, Sweden. This annual event, which has been running since 1991, brings together global experts to discuss pressing water issues. This year, a significant focus was on the water challenges faced by Indigenous peoples, particularly Native Americans in the Colorado River Basin.

During the event, Director Buschatzke participated in a panel titled “Enabling Indigenous Peoples Participation: Perspectives from the Colorado River Basin.” The discussion included officials such as Camille Calimlim Touton, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, and Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The panel was moderated by Daryl Vigil from the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

In his opening remarks, Vigil highlighted the historical context of water rights, noting that his tribe was only recently established on a reservation when the foundational “Law of the River” was created over a century ago. He remarked, “We’re 100 years behind, tribal sovereigns are,” emphasizing that tribes in the river basin hold rights to about 25% of Colorado River water.

ADWR reports that “Of the 30 indigenous tribes in the Colorado River Basin, 22 of those are Arizona tribes. Of those, 18 tribes have had their water rights quantified or settled. Four of those settlements are before Congress now.”

Amelia Flores shared her deep connection to the river, stating, “I am the river. My identity is with the Colorado River.” She expressed the importance of representing her tribe’s voice in negotiations and advocating for her community.

Director Buschatzke acknowledged that Arizona tribes collectively hold rights to approximately half of the state’s Colorado River allocation, which totals 2.8 million acre-feet. He stressed the necessity of collaboration among all stakeholders, saying, “You have to have all of the sovereign tribes, the states and many of the big water users together to solve the problems facing us on the river or we’re not going to be able to save the river.”

Director Buschatzke’s participation was supported by private philanthropic foundations, reflecting the importance of these discussions. World Water Week is a vital platform for addressing global water challenges, covering various topics from food security to climate change.

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Image: 

Colorado River in Grand Canyon, July 2006, by Wolfgang Staudt from Saarbruecken, Germany.  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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