Funding provided by the bureau of reclamation helps continue the confederated tribe of the umatilla indian reservations (CTUIR) efforts to increase water efficiency and instream flow protections in…

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) $382,305.42 under the Indian Tribal Water Resources Development, Management, and Protection program (CFDA 15.519) through a project grant effective September 15, 2025, with a completion date of March 31, 2027. The funding supports CTUIR's efforts to develop a 100 percent construction-ready design package for water efficiency and instream flow improvements in the Little Walla Walla Canal System located within the Walla Walla River Irrigation District in Milton-Freewater, Oregon.

The primary deliverable is a final construction-ready design package that includes permit acquisition, site surveying, engineering design development, construction planning and scheduling, and stakeholder communication planning. Upon completion, these improvements are intended to increase water supply sustainability, enhance water management efficiency, and strengthen protections for instream flows that support fisheries habitat restoration. The project specifically targets recovery and protection of endangered species including bull trout and steelhead trout, as well as other native aquatic species, thereby advancing both tribal natural resource management objectives and federal Endangered Species Act compliance.

Activities

Ctuir will complete a 100 percent construction-ready design package. Activities include initiating the process to secure necessary permits, surveying, working with the contracted engineer to create the design, establishing a construction plan and schedule, and creating a communication plan. Expected deliverables or outcomes: to create a final construction-ready design.

Intended beneficiaries

The public purpose of this agreement is to support projects that are intended to increase water supply sustainability through investments in existing infrastructure and to improve water management. Water efficiency improvements and stronger instream flow protections in the little walla walla irrigation system will help restore fisheries habitat and populations that include protected species under the endangered species act (e.g., bull and steelhead trout) and other native aquatic species. These projects are for the benefit of the species and by extension constitute a public benefit.subrecipient activities (if known or specified at time of award): N a