WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell signed a historic agreement July 30 at the Department of the Interior that will guarantee water rights for the White Mountain Apache Tribe of Arizona and provide water security for the city of Phoenix and other downstream water users.

Jewell was joined by White Mountain Apache Chairman Ronnie Lupe, former Sen. Jon Kyl, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and other federal, tribal and state dignitaries.

The White Mountain Apache Reservation includes more than 1.6 million acres in the headwaters of the Salt River basin in Arizona. The agreement will provide funding for design and construction of a rural water delivery system on the reservation and secure water flow for the city of Phoenix, which depends on the same river basin for basic water needs.

The agreement is one of four Indian water agreements authorized in the Claims Resolution Act, signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 8, 2010. The other agreements are the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement, signed in April 2012 by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement, signed in July 2012, and the Aamodt Water Rights Settlement, signed on March 14 of this year.

The agreement provides $200 million to the White Mountain Apache Tribe for the planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of the tribe’s rural water system. Another $78.5 million is also provided for a Settlement Fund for fish production, rehabilitation of recreational lakes and other projects that will benefit the tribe.

The agreement resolves the tribe’s claims to both the Gila and Little Colorado rivers. The end result, according to Jewell, is clean drinking water for the tribe, with a system extending from Whiteriver to Cibecue, and water security for the city of Phoenix and other users downstream.

Jewell’s signature is the final federal approval of the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Agreement, which was first authorized as part of the Claims Resolution Act. The signing ceremony also came with the first meeting of Obama’s new White House Council on Native American Affairs.

“Today we are taking a key step in fulfilling the administration’s commitment to resolving water rights in a manner that benefits Indian tribes and provides certainty to water users,” Jewell said in a press release. “Perhaps most importantly, the agreement paves the way to ensuring that the White Mountain Apache Tribe will have clean drinking water in communities across the reservation for the next 100 years.”

In the same press release, Lupe said, “On behalf of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, we thank Secretary Jewell, the Federal Negotiation Team, Gov. (Jan) Brewer, Salt River Project officials, the Phoenix Valley cities and irrigation districts, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Show Low, and our water rights team and attorney — with special thanks to former Sen. Jon Kyl and Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick for helping us achieve a dignified and honorable quantification of our water rights.”

Lupe added, as reported by Arizona Public Media, “Imagine a young child in a small village on our reservation stepping up to kitchen sink and opening the faucet for a clean and refreshing drink of water. (Black water from old wells will no longer) pour from that faucet.”

Kirkpatrick, who grew up on the reservation, often recounted tales of her family having to boil pots of water so they could have clean water to drink. She said the signing of the agreement represents a lifelong dream come true for the reservation.

“Thank you, Chairman, for having the heart of your people (at the center of the agreement),” she said, as reported by Cronkite News Service.

Speaking to The Independent, Kirkpatrick said, “It’s been a long road, but we got here because of hard work and because of teamwork. Thanks to all the stakeholders, we built a consensus that respected tribal sovereignty, authorized job-creating water projects and finally brought a clean supply of drinking water to this region. I’m so pleased that the very first bill I introduced in Congress years ago has now opened the door to job creation and a better quality of life for folks in the White Mountains.”