Obama orders speedy review of Navajo Nation water pipeline

Thursday, October 13, 2011  

President Barack Obama placed the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico on his list of 14 infrastructure projects to be expedited through the federal government.

The pipeline is part of a settlement with the Navajo Nation. It will supply water to about 250,000 people in communities on and off the reservation.

'This project will build two water treatment plants and deliver water through approximately 280 miles of pipeline, 24 pumping plants, and numerous water regulation and storage facilities bringing a clean and sustainable water supply to the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico," the White House said in a press release.

Construction has yet to begin. But expediting the process will help the Bureau of Reclamation acquire land for the 280-mile pipeline.

Obama signed the water rights settlement into law in 2009.

Get the Story:
Nearby project included in presidential memorandum (The Farmington Daily Times 10/13)

Water users in New Mexico sue over Navajo Nation settlement (9/15)