THE ISLETA PUEBLO, NM-Creating a Water Monitoring Program

The Isleta Pueblo of New Mexico enlisted the help of River Network to create a water quality monitoring program. The tribe, like many indigenous peoples, still engages in traditional practices that include ceremonies where individuals bathe in, and consume, untreated river water. The problem was that the Pueblo was located downstream of the City of Albuquerque. River Network helped Isleta Pueblo establish a monitoring program. Later, Isleta Pueblo became the first tribe in the nation to establish its own water quality standards. Its arsenic standard was many times stronger than the federal standard. When the City of Albuquerque sued the EPA, trying to convince federal courts that Isleta’s requests had no scientific basis, Isleta’s rights were upheld by the Supreme Court.