FARMINGTON, N.M. ─ The Bureau of Reclamation announced a $9.7 million contract award and intent to solicit for several contracts in the coming weeks for construction of key infrastructure features of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project’s San Juan Lateral in northwest New Mexico. Once complete, the project will provide a long-term sustainable water supply from the San Juan River, in the Colorado River Basin, to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup, New Mexico.
The $9.7 million contract was awarded to WCA Construction, LLC of Towaoc, Colorado to complete improvements for the Reach 1 Pipeline for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in northwest New Mexico. In 2023, Reclamation acquired the existing 42" ductile iron pipeline as part of the San Juan Generating Station water system facilities to convey water from the San Juan River Intake Pumping Plant to the Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir storage facility. This contract supports improvements to bring the 13-year-old pipeline up to Reclamation and NGWSP standards, and to ensure reliable water conveyance for the San Juan Lateral raw water transmission system.
The additional projects solicitations will allow for construction of the San Juan Lateral Intake and River Pumping Plant to move water from the intake to the Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir and the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant, from where safe clean drinking water will be conveyed through the San Juan Lateral to Navajo Nation communities and the City of Gallup.
“The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project is now more than 70 percent complete,” said Reclamation’s Four Corners Construction Office Construction Engineer/Manager Bart Deming. “Once completed, the project will provide opportunities by addressing the critical lack of drinking water in these areas. It will ensure a reliable and clean water supply for homes and businesses and foster economic growth.”
Reclamation purchased the San Juan Generating Station water conveyance system for $8 million from Public Service Company of New Mexico, which became available with PNM’s decision to exit the coal-fired power generation business at this location. The acquisition provides approximately $70 million in construction cost savings when compared to other river intake system alternatives explored for the San Juan Lateral portion of the project.
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, which is slated for initial water deliveries in late 2028 and project completion by the end of 2029, is the cornerstone of the Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement in the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico and was authorized for construction by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, known as Public Law 111-11. Construction began in 2012, and the completed project will include approximately 300 miles of pipeline, two water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants and multiple water storage tanks. The project helps address the needs of the Navajo Nation, where more than one in three people do not have indoor plumbing and must haul drinking water to their homes.
Interior and Reclamation are continuing its commitment to Indian tribes in the Colorado River Basin. The Department honors its trust responsibilities to tribes and recognizes that these same tribes have much to contribute to the future management and health of the Colorado River. With this in mind, we look forward to continuing dialogue with tribes whose ancestral homes are in the Colorado River watershed.
Visit the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project website for more information.
