Over the next three years the tolowa DEE-NI nation will conduct planning anddesign to develop a tribal water system to provide a stable source of domestic drinking water for the tribal community…

The Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation received a $7.89 million Project Grant from the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation under the Indian Tribal Water Resources Development, Management, and Protection program (CFDA 15.519) on September 13, 2025. This three-year award, with an ultimate completion date of September 30, 2028, supports comprehensive planning and design activities for the development of a new tribal water system to serve the Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation community near Smith River in northwestern California.

The primary deliverable is the planning and design package for a modernized drinking water system to replace the outdated infrastructure originally developed in the early 1960s. The project addresses critical water security challenges, including inadequate capacity to serve the entire tribal community, contamination risks from seasonal creek sources, and vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires. By establishing a stable, reliable domestic drinking water source, the project directly supports tribal health and well-being, food security initiatives, and the federal trust responsibility to provide essential infrastructure services to federally recognized tribes.

Activities

This action is critical to ensure the tribe has a reliable source of clean drinking water. IT is also part of our federal trust responsibility. The current tolowa drinking water system was developed in the early 1960S. IT is outdated and does not serve the entire tribal community. Families and tribal elders face a continued risk of an entire loss of clean drinking water and experience severe water restrictions due to the limited capacity of the tolowa drinking water system and the adjacent smith river community services district (CSD) water system. Both systems rely on small seasonal creeks which fall dangerously low to supply these homes and businesses with clean drinking water. In the past decade, these creeks are now dry in the summer. Without these planning and design funds, the tribes future is at jeopardy.outcome: the project assists with regulatory compliance by providing the tolowa government and its utilities program staff with a new system capable of meeting state and federal drinking water regulations within a single jurisdiction. The new system will be built to maximize compliance, meet permitting standards, and ensure effective technology and treatment are in place to comply with standards within the federal clean water act and the california safe water drinking laws within the california water code, including the new porter-cologne water quality control act. Beneficiary: the public. Planning and design accomplished through this project will enable the tolowa DEE- NI nation to consider all options and to design a cost-effective tribal domestic watersystem capable of serving all 351 households, businesses, and other facilities within the tribal community with a supply of clean drinking water able to meet their current needs.