The Bureau of Reclamation commemorated continued progress on the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project with a Navajo blessing ceremony and groundbreaking event for the project’s San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant.
The water treatment plant is the largest and most important feature of the Project. The event celebrated the start of construction, the continued collaboration between the Navajo Nation and Reclamation, as well as the continued progress on the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project to bring clean, reliable water to the Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache Nation and the City of Gallup.
“Today marks a historic milestone for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project as we broke ground on the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant that will deliver vital drinking water for the Navajo people, Jicarilla Apache Nation and the City of Gallup,” said Acting Commissioner David Palumbo. “Reliable, resilient, and clean drinking water supply for these communities is long-awaited.”
The day’s events started with a Navajo blessing ceremony, a tradition of the Navajo faith which asks permission to disturb the earth and for a blessing for the project before ground is broken. In addition to honouring the ground with leadership songs and other traditions to bring harmony and good fortune to the new construction, the ceremony also recognized the collaboration of the organizations who are working to bring water to these communities.
The water treatment plant’s initial capacity is treatment of up to 18.8 million gallons of water per day to Safe Drinking Water Act standards
Last fall, Jacobs was awarded a $267 million design and build contract for the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant. The completed system will treat and deliver vital drinking water to Navajo communities in northwest New Mexico, Gallup, New Mexico, and Window Rock, Arizona, fulfilling a commitment under the Navajo San Juan Indian Water Rights Settlement. Nearly half of the project is funded by the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund through the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act with the other half funded through the Reclamation Water Settlement Fund authorized under the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act. The water treatment plant’s initial capacity is treatment of up to 18.8 million gallons of water per day to Safe Drinking Water Act standards, with the capability to treat up to 37.6 million gallons per day.
The contract also includes the commissioning and computer control integration of the entire San Juan Lateral system, and 12 months of operations and maintenance necessary to fully test the water treatment plant while making the initial water deliveries.
“This project will provide opportunities that haven’t been available, primarily because of the lack of drinking water in these communities. It will not only provide a water supply for running water in homes for drinking, cooking, bathing, and better health and sanitation, but it will also provide the means to allow for homes, schools, hospitals, hotels, car washes, and commercial businesses to be built and help create jobs for the people,” said Reclamation’s Four Corners Construction Office Construction Engineer/Manager Bart Deming during the commemoration. “This will be a game changer for current and future Diné generations, along with the residents of the City of Gallup.”
Last fall the completion deadline for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project was extended to Dec. 31, 2029, through an agreement between the Navajo Nation, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, and the United States, collectively referred to as the Settlement Parties to the Navajo Nation’s Water Right Settlement on the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico.
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is a major infrastructure project that once completed, will convey a reliable municipal and industrial water supply from the San Juan River to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup, New Mexico via about 300 miles of pipeline, nineteen pumping plants, and two water treatment plants. The Project is designed to provide a long-term sustainable water supply to meet the future population needs of approximately 250,000 people in these communities over a 40-year time horizon.
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is now 70% complete and the San Juan Lateral is more than 60% complete with initial water deliveries slated for late 2028 and final project completion by the end of 2029.
