Established in 1865, the Colorado River Indian Reservation was set aside for indigenous residents of the Colorado River and its tributaries. Today, the Reservation includes approximately 300,000 acres of lands and is primarily home to four distinct tribes – the Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo. The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) have territory that stretches along 56 miles of lower Colorado River lands with the majority of their reservation located in Arizona.

In an addition to our 2022 CRIT Irrigation Modernization project, CRIT will expand in installing precision drip irrigation on CRIT agricultural lands. The drip irrigation will replace the current flood irrigation system for alfalfa and cotton production. Drip irrigation is an efficient irrigation method compared to conventional flood irrigation and is expected to reduce water withdrawn from the Colorado River for farming on CRIT lands by 25-50%. Additionally, the improved irrigation is expected to produce a 10% increase in crop yield.