While the infusion of federal funding for tribal water infrastructure funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act are “a welcome first step” toward enhancing water access on tribal lands, additional funding and designations are needed for system operations and maintenance if that access is to be preserved long-term.
In a testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Tribal Water Department Director Brian Bennon said funding for preventative maintenance is essential if users are to get as much benefit from systems as possible and to keep systems operational for as long as possible.
The Indian Health Service reports 22% of tribal homes are without adequate sanitation. Bennon cited EPA data that said tribal public water systems have twice as many Safe Drinking Water Act violations over the past 10 years as non-tribal systems.
According to Bennon and other officials appearing before the Committee, building new facilities only addresses part of the problem. Many violations are the result of insufficient maintenance funding, a lack of professionally trained staff, and a lack of efficient communication between tribes and the government.
He said infrastructure construction has to be balanced with the creation of “managerial financial and technical capacity of the utilities to properly operate and maintain the water infrastructure investments.” (Source)