Gila River Indian Community formally objects to the post-2026 Colorado River plan
The Gila River Indian Community, holder of the second-largest published conservation agreement on the river, said the Final EIS deviates from the Law of the River and that it will challenge the guidelines in every available forum.
- GRIC conservation agreement
- 341,319 AF at $400/AF
- GRIC annual CAP leases
- ~121,000 AF/yr
What happened
The Gila River Indian Community formally objected to Reclamation’s Final Environmental Impact Statement for post-2026 operations. Governor Stephen Roe Lewis stated the plan deviates substantially from the requirements of the Law of the River and warned the community would challenge the guidelines in every forum available. The FEIS proposed Lower Basin reductions of up to 3 million acre feet annually.
The community is not a bystander: it holds a 341,319 acre foot System Conservation Implementation Agreement with Reclamation at $400 per acre foot, and leases roughly 121,000 acre feet a year of its Central Arizona Project supply to other users.
What it means if you own water here
Litigation risk over the new guidelines is now real, and the plaintiff is one of the largest water holders in Arizona. A challenge that delays or reshapes the 2027 rules would change how much conserved water Reclamation needs and from whom.
For Arizona owners, tribal leasing is the scale-setter in the state. What the community decides to lease, conserve, or litigate over moves the price expectations everyone else negotiates against.
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