For more than a decade, the Walker River Paiute Tribe has been working to update their limited water infrastructure. On Sept. 15 they were finally able to break ground on a water looping system that will add nearly 1,600 linear feet of water lines to the reservation.
Earlier this year the tribe was counting on a $20 million EPA grant to help build the water looping system. Then, in March President Trump's administration suddenly and swiftly took it away. It not only put their water infrastructure project at risk; it also meant the tribe could lose their approved housing grants.
The tribe had been saving funds, because their revenue is limited by lack of economic opportunity, says Walker River Paiute Tribe Chairwoman Melanie McFalls. The tribe will use three million dollars of that funding to pay for the water-looping project.
“You know it was kind of hard to give up $3 million just like that," McFalls said. "But we had to or else we would’ve lost the entire project.”
The first phase of the water looping system will wrap up in about four months. After it’s finished, McFalls says, the tribe will be able to build roughly 30 more homes and add economic development opportunities on the reservation.
