Two Tribal Nations in Arizona have taken new steps to protect their water resources and culturally significant landscapes as the Colorado River Basin continues to face declining supplies and growing development demands.
KJZZ reported that the Hualapai Tribal Council recently approved a moratorium opposing the development of hyperscale data centers on its nearly one-million-acre reservation. The Tribe shares a 108-mile boundary with the Colorado River and raised concerns about the potential effects of large-scale data centers on water supplies, land, and the environment.
Hyperscale data centers are large facilities that support cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Depending on their design, these facilities can require substantial water for cooling and electricity generation.
Hualapai Chairman Duane Clarke told KJZZ that protecting the Tribe’s air, land, and water remains a priority. The resolution also states that outside entities and private developers cannot use or compromise Tribal resources without the Tribe’s free, prior, and informed consent.
The decision comes as other Colorado River communities consider similar developments. KJZZ reported that residents in Bullhead City have raised concerns about potential data center projects, while a proposed facility near Page has drawn opposition from the Navajo Nation’s LeChee Chapter.
Another development involving the Navajo Nation highlights the cultural significance of the Colorado River.
Grand Canyon Trust reported that the Navajo Nation has formally designated the confluence of the Little Colorado River and Colorado River as a sacred site under Tribal law.
Known as Tooh Ahidiilíní, the confluence is located within the Grand Canyon and holds cultural and spiritual significance for the Navajo people and other Indigenous communities.
The designation follows more than a decade of efforts by Navajo families and the Save the Confluence coalition. Those efforts included opposition to the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade development, which would have constructed a tramway, hotels, and other commercial facilities near the confluence.
The new legislation recognizes the confluence, Little Colorado River Gorge, and surrounding cultural landscape as a sacred site protected under the Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Protection Act.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over how the federal government will manage the Colorado River.
ABC15 reported that Nevada’s lawsuit challenging the new federal operating guidelines could potentially delay their implementation. Nevada argues that the plan places too much of the shortage burden on the Lower Basin states without adequately considering economic and public health consequences.
The state is seeking to block the plan before Oct. 1. If a court grants that request, existing operating rules and reductions could remain in place while the lawsuit proceeds.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Tom Romero told ABC15 that litigation could encourage the Basin states to resume negotiations, but a court decision would not resolve the river’s declining water supply.
A Reuters analysis published Sept. 14 helps explain that underlying challenge. The report found that the Colorado River’s average annual natural flow declined from approximately 14.9 million acre-feet during the 20th century to 12.3 million acre-feet between 2000 and 2025.
Reuters also reported that water consumption exceeded the river’s natural supply in 16 of the last 24 years analyzed, with reservoirs making up the difference.
Together, these developments show how Colorado River management involves more than dividing water between states. Tribal governments are exercising their authority to protect resources and culturally significant places, while federal officials and water users continue working through legal disputes and a river system that is producing less water than in previous decades.
What does this mean for CRIT?
The Hualapai and Navajo Nation developments connect directly to CRIT’s ongoing work involving water sovereignty, resource protection, and the cultural significance of the Colorado River.
The Hualapai decision demonstrates how a Tribal government can use its authority to address proposed development and potential impacts on its natural resources. The Navajo Nation’s designation of the Confluence also provides an example of Tribal law being used to formally recognize and protect a culturally significant river landscape.
For CRIT, these developments relate to the Tribe’s Water Code, Water Resiliency Act, and Personhood Resolution. Each addresses a different aspect of the Tribe’s relationship with the Colorado River, including water management, long-term resiliency, and recognition of the river’s cultural and environmental significance.
The Nevada lawsuit and Reuters analysis also remain relevant because CRIT’s senior water rights exist within a larger river system facing continued shortages. Although CRIT’s legal position differs from many other Lower Basin water users, federal reservoir operations and future Colorado River agreements remain important to the Tribe’s agricultural economy and water resources.
Sources
KJZZ: “Hualapai Tribe enacts moratorium to halt ‘irresponsible development of hyperscale data centers’”
Grand Canyon Trust: “Navajo Nation Protects Little Colorado River Confluence as Sacred Site”
ABC15 Arizona: “How Nevada lawsuit could impact Arizona’s Colorado River water cuts”
Reuters: “How drought and demand pushed the Colorado River toward crisis”
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ENVIRONMENT/COLORADO-RIVER/znpngebyxvl/