Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Signs Water Agreement For Water Rights

The Colorado River Water Users Association held their annual conference this last weekend in Las Vegas. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar along with the Navajo Nation's President Joe Shirley Jr were in attendance. Both Salazar and Shirley signed an agreement that quantifies the tribe's water rights in the lower Colorado River Basin.

Officials had been finalizing the agreement in which tens of thousands of Navajos will finally enjoy running water in their homes. The agreement attempts to resolve a dispute that is one hundred forty-two years old. With the signed agreement government officials say it will provide a long-term clean water supply. The clean water supply will improve living and health conditions and will lead the way for future  economic development.

The conference received an attendance of nearly one thousand people. The conference focused on water-use agreement covering California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The new signed agreement will affect approximately thirty million people living in the west.

The CRWUA is a non-partisan organization, formed to plan, study, formulate and advise on ways to protect and safeguard the interests of all who use the Colorado River.

For more information on the CRWUA and their 2010 resolution visit http://www.crwua.org/