The Tohono O'odham Nation and the state of Arizona signed a water rights settlement on Friday, putting an end to 31 years of litigation.

Rosanna Carlyle and another tribal member filed the suit on behalf of landowners whose water dried up as a result of overpumping by the city of Tucson. "I thought it would go on and on," Carlyle said of the case, The Arizona Daily Star reported.

But after rejecting an earlier settlement, Carlyle is pleased with the deal. She said it would enable tribal landowners to begin farming again.

Under the deal, the tribe is ensured 50,000 acre-feet of water a year.

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For O'odham, water will return (The Arizona Daily Star 5/6)