The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will provide clean drinking water to meet a projected demand at least 40 years into the future.

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is being designed and constructed to provide a clean and sustainable drinking water supply based on water resources in the San Juan River Basin.

The Project will meet a projected demand at least 40 years in the future and is the cornerstone of the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights Settlement Agreement in the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico.

The areas served by the project include 43 Chapters within the Navajo Nation, which is marked by the orange shading on the map. These areas currently rely on rapidly depleting groundwater supplies, some of which are of poor quality.

It is estimated that, currently, more than 40 percent of Navajo households across the reservation rely on water hauling to meet daily water needs.

When fully completed, the project will serve an area the size of the state of New Jersey.

In total, the project will include over 300 miles of pipeline, 2 water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants, and several water storage tanks.

The Project will distribute San Juan River water to the populations needing it via two major pipeline systems, the Cutter Lateral (shown in gold) and the San Juan Lateral (bright green).

Parts of the project have been completed, including the Cutter Lateral Water Treatment plant. In 2020, treated water from the Project began to be delivered to Navajo communities served from the Cutter Lateral. The Cutter Lateral will also deliver water to the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Click on each of the location icons to learn more about the scope of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and the areas served by this reliable and clean drinking water supply.