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- By Native News Online Staff
Construction has officially begun on a new $267 million water treatment facility along Navajo Route 36 near Shiprock, New Mexico. The San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant, expected to be completed by late 2028, will play a vital role in securing clean drinking water for more than 200,000 people over the next four decades, including communities in Arizona.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren led the groundbreaking ceremony, joined by Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council Crystalyne Curley, New Mexico Indian Affairs Secretary Josette Monette, Policy Advisor James Big Mountain, and other key leaders and stakeholders.
Once operational, the plant will treat up to 18.8 million gallons of water daily—meeting Safe Drinking Water Act standards—with the capacity to double that output to 37.6 million gallons per day as needed. In addition to delivering long-term water security, the facility is expected to create 200 jobs during its development.
Bart Deming, Four Corners Construction Office Project Engineer and Manager of Bureau of Reclamation, Robert Kirk, Navajo Water Resources Principal Hydrologist, Jason John, Director of Navajo Water Resources, and Haatali Richard Anderson, opened the agenda for the blessing of the treatment plant. Greg Fischer, Vice President of Jacob’s Design Build Operation and Management, Tanya Trujillo, New Mexico Governors Water Policy Advisor, Teresa Leger Fernandez, New Mexico Representative, and David Palumbo, Acting Commissioner of Bureau of Reclamation, all shared their vision for the water treatment plant, a big feature of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project.
“The first year I was in office, I got to choose 10 projects, and I chose this one,” said Leger-Fernandez.
This transformative project is the result of a strong partnership with the U.S. federal government and underscores a shared commitment to uphold the Treaty of 1868, honoring the sovereignty and well-being of the Navajo Nation and surrounding tribal communities.
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