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Enacted Indian water rights settlements
35 settlements enacted by Congress, as listed by the Department of the Interior's Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office and cross-referenced against CRS Report R44148. Funding and water figures appear only where a source states them; n/s means the reviewed sources do not state a figure. It never means zero.
| Settlement | State | Enacted | Public law | Funds authorized | Water (AF/yr) | Basin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ak-Chin Indian Community Act of 1978Ak-Chin Indian Community | AZ | 1978 | P.L. 95-328 | $101.1M | 85,000 | |
| Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982Tohono O'odham Nation | AZ | 1982 | P.L. 97-293 | $39.8M | 66,000 | |
| Seminole Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987Seminole Tribe of Florida | FL | 1987 | P.L. 100-228 | n/s | n/s | |
| Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona | AZ | 1988 | P.L. 100-512 | $47.5M | 122,400 | |
| Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado · Ute Mountain Ute Tribes (and Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) | CO | 1988 | P.L. 100-585 | $49.5M | 70,000 | |
| San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement ActLa Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, California · Rincon Band of Mission Luiseno Indians of Rincon Reservation · San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of California · Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation · Pala Band of Mission Indians | CA | 1988 | P.L. 100-675 | $30.0M | n/s | |
| Fort Hall Indian Water Rights Act of 1990Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation | ID | 1990 | P.L. 101-602 | $22.0M | 581,331 | |
| Fallon Paiute Shoshone Indian Tribes Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada | NV | 1990 | P.L. 101-618, Title I | $43.0M | 10,588 | |
| Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada | NV, CA | 1990 | P.L. 101-618, Title II | $65.0M | n/s | |
| Fort McDowell Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona | AZ | 1990 | P.L. 101-628, Title IV | $23.0M | 36,350 | |
| Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana | MT | 1992 | P.L. 102-374 | $73.0M | 83,830 | |
| Jicarilla Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992Jicarilla Apache Nation | NM | 1992 | P.L. 102-441 | $6.0M | 40,000 | San Juan River basin (plus Rio Chama basin claims) |
| San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement ActSan Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona | AZ | 1992 | P.L. 102-575, Title XXXVII | $41.4M | 67,965 | |
| Ute Indian Rights Settlement Act of 1992Northern Ute Indian Tribe · Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah | UT | 1992 | P.L. 102-575, Title V | $198.5M | 481,035 | |
| Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1994Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe | AZ | 1994 | P.L. 103-434, Title I | $200,000 | 1,550 | |
| Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement and Water Supply Enhancement Act of 1999Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana | MT | 1999 | P.L. 106-163 | $46.0M | 20,000 | |
| Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Water Rights Settlement ActPaiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band of Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes) | UT | 2000 | P.L. 106-263 | $24.0M | 4,000 | |
| Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2003Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico | AZ | 2003 | P.L. 108-34 | $19.3M | 10,600 | Little Colorado River basin (Colorado River system) |
| Snake River Water Rights Act of 2004Nez Perce Tribe | ID | 2004 | P.L. 108-447, Division J, Title X | $121.3M | 50,000 | |
| Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona · Tohono O'odham Nation | AZ | 2004 | P.L. 108-451 | $2.33B | 653,500 | Gila River / Central Arizona Project (Colorado River water) |
| Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement ActSoboba Band of Luiseño Indians, California | CA | 2008 | P.L. 110-297 | $21.0M | 9,000 | |
| Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights)Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah | NM | 2009 | P.L. 111-11, Title X, Subtitle B | $984.1M | 535,330 | San Juan River (Colorado River system) |
| Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water Rights SettlementShoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada | ID, NV | 2009 | P.L. 111-11, Title X, Subtitle C | $60.0M | 114,082 | |
| White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation | AZ | 2010 | P.L. 111-291, Title III | $857.2M | 99,000 | |
| Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010Crow Tribe of Montana | MT | 2010 | P.L. 111-291, Title IV | $461.0M | 697,000 | |
| Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement ActPueblo of Taos, New Mexico | NM | 2010 | P.L. 111-291, Title V | $124.0M | 9,628 | Rio Grande system (Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Hondo stream systems) |
| Aamodt Litigation Settlement ActPueblo of Nambe, New Mexico · Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico · Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico · Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico | NM | 2010 | P.L. 111-291, Title VI | $311.3M | 6,467 | Rio Grande (Pojoaque Basin; Regional Water System diverts from the Rio Grande) |
| Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe-Fish Springs Ranch Settlement ActPyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada | NV | 2014 | P.L. 113-169 | n/s | n/s | |
| Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona | AZ | 2014 | P.L. 113-223 | n/s | n/s | |
| Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement ActPechanga Band of Indians | CA | 2016 | P.L. 114-322, Title III, Subtitle D | $28.5M | 4,994 | |
| Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation Water SettlementThe Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma · The Chickasaw Nation | OK | 2016 | P.L. 114-322, Title III, Subtitle F | n/s | n/s | |
| Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement ActBlackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana | MT | 2016 | P.L. 114-322, Title III, Subtitle G | $420.0M | 50,000 | |
| Montana Water Rights Protection ActConfederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation | MT | 2020 | P.L. 116-260, Division DD | $1.90B | 90,000 | |
| Navajo-Utah Water Rights Settlement ActNavajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah | UT | 2020 | P.L. 116-260, Division FF, Title XI, Sec. 1102 | $210.4M | 81,500 | |
| Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona | AZ | 2023 | P.L. 117-349 | $317.0M | 3,414 |
Funding figures are nominal dollars as stated in the cited source (mostly CRS R44148): they are not inflation-adjusted and are not comparable across decades without adjustment. Water figures use acre-feet per year as stated; settlements quantify water in different ways (diversion vs. depletion, surface vs. groundwater), so compare with care and read the settlement act itself before drawing conclusions.