In partnership with the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe, this project will relocate an irrigation pumping station and enrolling tribal land into a rotational fallowing program. A rotational fallowing program involves alternating periods of crop cultivation and fallowing/unplanted land to enhance soil health, manage pests, and improve water retention, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
The existing water pump is currently inefficient and prevents the Tribe from utilizing its full water rights. Relocating the Tribe’s water pump will enable more efficient water delivery and provide access to their full water rights, and it will also be powered by solar energy instead of diesel fuel. Updating the pump will allow the Tribe to implement a seasonal fallowing program that will reduce agricultural water demand and reallocate the saved water maintaining riparian habitat restoration, wetland water supply projects, and/or participate in water/system conservation programs that bolster levels at Lake Mead.
Project Partner: Quechan Tribe
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Quechan Tribe Water Delivery and Plant Nursery
The Quechan Tribe will use BEF funding to design, engineer, and construct a water delivery pipeline within the Bard Water District, near the California/Arizona border in Yuma, to address a bottleneck in the canal system. This improvement will enhance water access for Tribal farmers, supporting agricultural productivity and water management within the district.