WSPC01188

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Date: 1/1/1987
• Author: American Indian Reso
• Title: Tribal Water Management Handbook
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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224G

CONFUCJS. TRENDS & CHALLENGES

13

be determined by the cost of electric power for pumping, by the profitability of
irrigation farming, and, to a lesser extent, by government regulation.

Pollution v. Protection: Creeping Contamination

To be of benefit, water not only must be where it is needed, but must be of a
quality that is needed. Chapter 6 discusses water quality and chemistry in greater
detail. Simply put, pollution makes available water unusable or unsafe. The
pollution of surface water by sewage. industrial waste and sediment from eroded land
has long been recognized as a problem, and extensive government regulation has
brought some aspects of that problem under control. The dangers associated with
ground water pollution have been recognized only recently?

Discoveries of contaminated ground water are now occurring daily and will
continue for many years, since society's record of poor hazardous waste management
is decades old, and the poisons may take many years to migrate through geologic
formations to reach a particular ground water source. Although only a small fraction
of the nation's ground water supplies are now estimated to be contaminated, the
impact of tl1at contamination on the healtl1 and economy of tl1e local areas affected
can be substantial. The cost of ground water pollution containment or development
of alternative water supplies is normally great. Generally, it is impractical or
impossible to clean up or rehabilitate a contaminated aquifer. Many laws and
regulations are now directed at the problem of ground water contamination.
Localities, such as Indian reservations, that have not monitored closely tl1e land
application or disposal of toxic chemicals will be compelled to do so in tl1e future to
protect public health and natural resources.

Water Planning, Policy, Allocation and Control

Macro v. Micro: From Nations to Speciol Districts

Water is so important to society that many levels of government compete to
control its allocation. Where a water source crosses a political boundary, the
neighboring governments-nations, states, counties, water districts, and so
forth--compete for it. That competition is moderated variously by litigation, treaties,
compacts and legislation.

The relative political and economic power of competing governments shifts
back and forth over time. A new definition of "federalism," marked by a decline in
federal subsidy for water planning and development, demonstrates tl1e current shift in
federal-state relations. g After having built and operated reclamation projects
accounting for about 20% of tl1e irrigation in the West, at a total construction cost of
almost $8 billion, the federal Bureau of Reclamation now is faced with assuming
more of a caretaker role as it completes pending projects.9 Moreover, states must
redefine tl1eir water role in light of a United States Supreme Court decision holding
that the states do not legally own water and cannot, except in planning for such
limited conditions as serious drought. prohibit water from being exported out of the
reach of tl1eir citizens. to Congress and tl1e courts have given states some authority
over the adjudication of Indian water rights, but the tug-ana-pull for jurisdiction over