Home study Tribal Water rights

"Gold is no longer the most precious treasure of the American West. Water is.

In the arid western half of the United States, the unquenchable thirsts of industry, agriculture, and growing urban areas have nearly drained the region dry. There is no longer enough water to satisfy the conflicting claims of the many groups fighting over it.

Among the claimants are American Indian tribes. They hold water rights dating back to treaty obligations of the U.S. government--rights that often conflict with state water-rights allocation doctrines. Currently they are locked in legal combat with non-Indian adversaries in about fifty major water-rights disputes throughout the western United States. The amounts of water involved are huge, as are the potential economic benefits for the victors."

-Lloyd Burton, American Indian Water Rights and the Limits of Law

Lesson one. Overview of Indian Water Rights.

Lesson two. Types of Water rights systems, Riparian vs. Prior Appropriation.

Lesson three. Winters.

Lesson four. Arizona vs. California.

Water allocation during drought

other useful resources:

How to build your own rainwater catchment system

The Building of a Ferrocement Water Tank (PowerPoint by Jessica Diaz)

Building a Ferrocement Tank (Word document by Jessica Diaz)

coming soon:

Video lecture on rainwater catchment systems

Video on example system english/spanish