U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) announced Monday that he has successfully pressured the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to allocate $120 million for construction of the ongoing Navajo-Gallup Water Project, which when completed is expected to provide sustainable water supply to more than 250,000 people in northwest New Mexico.
The project to divert water from the San Juan River to the Navajo Nation and adjacent areas through a 300-mile pipeline was completed in 2010, when the federal Interior Department and the state finalized the latter’s water rights settlement.
Congress has authorized up to about $1.8 billion for the program, which has received sporadic funding over the past 15 years. Most recently, Lujan and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) secured $55 million for the project in a recent federal spending bill.
During a U.S. Senate committee meeting last Wednesday, Lujan asked acting Bureau of Reclamation Administrator Scott Cameron about an additional $120 million for the project. Lujan said the money has been retained through January 2025 in the Reclaimed Water Settlement Fund, a fund the bureau oversees to pay for tribal water rights settlements across the country.
Cameron told Lujan he would look into the matter, and Lujan announced in a press release on Monday that the agency had “expedited” the release of funding for the project.
“This is a critical step forward and I remain committed to completing this project,” Lujan said in a statement.
about 40% of the Navajo Nation Homes lack running water, and Gallup, a city of about 20,000 people, is increasingly dependent on a dwindling water supply.
During the pipeline’s construction, Gallup’s annual groundwater production has dropped from about 3,900 acre-feet to about 2,900 acre-feet as water levels have dropped by about 200 feet, necessitating the need for deeper and deeper wells, city officials said.
The pipeline will also provide a steady flow of water to the southwest Jicarilla Apache River, benefiting approximately 1,300 people.
Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Teresa Ledger Fernandez (D-N.M.) praised the additional funding in a statement Monday for moving the project a step forward.
“Gallup and other communities don’t have the water infrastructure they need for health care, businesses and residents,” Leger Fernandez said. “This $120 million in funding brings us one step closer to the day when these communities can turn on the taps and trust the water will flow.”
Construction is expected to last until at least November 2029, according to a report Project timeline.