Lawmakers seek extended deadline, funding for crucial water pipeline project in New Mexico
(UI) — The Indian Affairs Committee met on July 12 to discuss a bill that could affect water access for thousands of households in rural New Mexico.
The committee heard testimony about the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Amendments Act. A $67 million contract was already issued to build water pipelines but now lawmakers want more time and funds to complete and maintain the infrastructure.
Spanning approximately 300 miles of pipeline, the project aims to transport municipal and industrial water from the San Juan River to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern area of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup, New Mexico.
The initiative, according to New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Lujan, aims to give residents on Navajo Nation property access to much-needed water, since between 30% and 34% of those homes lack running water. The proposed law will bring in extra funds and postpone the deadline until 2029.
"This project authorized the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, to pipe water to communities in New Mexico and eastern Arizona,” Senator Lujan said as reported by KRQE News. “Without action by Congress, authorization and funding for the project will expire on December 31st, 2024, depriving roughly a quarter million people in northwestern New Mexico and Arizona the water promised by this settlement in 2009."
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is a significant infrastructure undertaking aimed at establishing a reliable water supply for various regions. It will involve the construction of nineteen pumping plants and two water treatment plants.
The current reliance on a diminishing groundwater supply, characterized by poor quality and insufficient quantity, poses challenges for over 43 Navajo chapters, the city of Gallup, and the Teepee Junction area of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The groundwater levels in Gallup have significantly declined by approximately 200 feet over the past decade.
Moreover, more than 40% of Navajo Nation households are compelled to transport water to fulfill their daily needs. Additionally, the insufficient water supply hampers the Jicarilla Apache people's ability to live and work outside the reservation town of Dulce.
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project has been designed to cater to the long-term, sustainable water requirements of approximately 250,000 individuals in these communities over a span of 40 years. This will be achieved through the annual delivery of 37,764 acre-feet of water from the San Juan Basin.
The project's eastern branch is anticipated to divert around 4,645 acre-feet of water annually, with no return flow to the San Juan River. Meanwhile, the western branch is projected to divert the remaining 33,119 acre-feet of water, with an expected average annual return flow of 1,871 acre-feet.
In 2009, the signing of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act provided the authorization to construct this important project as a major component of the Navajo Nation San Juan River Basin Water Rights Settlement in New Mexico.
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