A 2013 photo of the Tres Rios wetlands, a reclaimed part of the Salt, Gila and Agua Fria rivers hat is now teeming with wildlife. Tres Rios is one of the projects named in a bill creating a $150 million fund for local water projects in Arizona, with the first $900,000 being released for a Pascua Yaqui irrigation project.
WASHINGTON-Pascua Yaqui Council members called it "a blessing."
They were talking about $900,000 in federal funds that will be used to bring water to the tribe's lands for irrigation, the first fruits of an effort last year by members of the state's congressional delegation to win $150 million in federal funding for water projects around the state.
"Water is sacred to a lot of tribes and a lot of Arizonans. For us, it's a blessing," Pascua Yaqui Chairman Peter Yucupicio said at a news conference announcing the funding. "We started looking at this and we said, 'This will help us now and in the...
