Addressing Tribal Water Justice through U of A Programs And a New Funding Handbook

The Initiative on Universal Access to Clean Water (UACW) for Tribal Communities was established to tackle the critical issue of insufficient access to basic drinking water services in Tribal households. UACW focuses on legislative and federal agency-focused advocacy, and recently produced a Funding Handbook focused on IRA and BIL funding available to Tribes. The Funding Handbook highlights opportunities that specifically support water access projects, as well as climate mitigation and adaptation actions on Tribal lands. 

In a webinar held on November 21 (you can watch a recording here), the U of A collaborators and UACW team explored issues of Tribal water access and how Tribes can leverage this historic funding to meet their community needs. “Right here in the Colorado River Basin where I live, we are all too familiar with the lack of access and infrastructure, historic inequities, and unresolved water rights – but also the resilience and innovation – of Tribal communities,” shared Prof. Andrea Gerlak, Director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (the Udall Center). “Several centers and programs here at the University of Arizona are engaged with research, teaching, and outreach to advance Tribal access to clean, affordable water - from AIR’s IRes, Haury Program, and CCASS to the University’s new West Environmental Justice Center to the Udall Center, where we work to strengthen the capacities of Indigenous people for nation-building and self-determination.”

For a full story, visit NAAIR.