The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is the cornerstone of the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights Settlement Agreement in the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico. Parts of the project have been completed, including the Carson/Huerfano public water system, which started to deliver potable water from the Cutter Lateral Water Treatment Plant on October 27, 2020.

Navajo-Gallup Project Website

Building trust and support for this project among the Tribal communities has been critical. Reclamation leads committees to discuss design and construction-related issues, develop consensus with project participants on decisions, and plan for future operation and management. Many local Tribal community members have been hired to work on the construction projects. Reclamation has also supported traditional blessing ceremonies conducted by medicine men at major milestones of the project to underscore the spiritual and religious aspects of water and highlight what this project means to the Navajo people.