Reclamation's Four Corners Construction Office will continue investigation work for the western portion of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project beginning June 7, 2011 in the area of Tohlakai Hill, north of Gallup, New Mexico. Evaluation of engineering and geologic properties along Tohlakai Hill, are necessary to design the Tohlakai Pumping Plant and associated water storage tanks which are all part of the NGWSP.

The field work will include ground surveys, geological and geophysical surveys, archaeological surveys, and subsurface exploration. Test pits, approximately 10 feet deep, will be excavated along the alignment and will be backfilled once testing is complete. The estimated duration of this work is three to four weeks.

The NGWSP was authorized for construction by Public Law 111-11 as a major component of the Navajo Nation San Juan River Basin Water Rights Settlement in New Mexico. Once completed, the NGWSP will provide a reliable municipal, industrial, and domestic water supply to 43 Navajo Nation chapters, including the Window Rock, AZ area, the city of Gallup, NM the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry, and the southwest portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation. These areas currently rely on a rapidly depleting groundwater supply that is of poor quality and inadequate to meet the current and future needs. The authorizing legislation requires completion of construction of all NGWSP features no later than December 31, 2024.