Gila River Governor Lewis Meets with Senator Sinema, Discusses Drought Contingency Plan

Gila River Governor Lewis meets with Senator Sinema

Published February 15, 2019

WASHINGTON —  On Thursday, Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community met with senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema. They discussed the Community’s pivotal role in the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) and how they can continue working to secure Arizona’s water future.

“The Gila River Indian Community has been critical to advancing the Drought Contingency Plan. I’m grateful for Governor Lewis’ leadership, and I look forward to working together as we advance the plan through Congress,” said Sinema.

The Gila River Indian Community is entitled to nearly a quarter of the Colorado River water that passes through the Central Arizona Project’s canal, and has been a key player in Arizona’s DCP negotiations. Under the DCP, the Gila River Indian Community agreed to supply hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water to Arizona. Without the Community’s leadership, the DCP would not have been possible.

Now that the Arizona Legislature passed the DCP, Congress must act to ensure the Bureau of Reclamation can enter into the agreement with Arizona and the six other Colorado River Basin States: Nevada, California, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming.