The work of water
Courtesy | Crystal Tulley-Cordova
Crystal Tulley-Cordova, a principal hydrologist with the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources Water Management Branch, stands beneath a waterfall. Tulley-Cordova and longtime water hauler Darlene Arviso were named grand marshals of the 78th Annual Navajo Nation Fair Parade.
Tulley-Cordova, Arviso named fair parade grand marshals for their work on Navajo water.
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo Nation hydrologist Crystal Tulley-Cordova and longtime water hauler Darlene Arviso will serve as grand marshals of the 78th Annual Navajo Nation Fair Parade Sept. 12, recognizing two Diné women whose careers have addressed water needs in distinctly different ways.
File photo
Darlene Arviso, known as the Water Lady, fills a water container during a delivery in January 2015. Arviso has spent years hauling water to Diné families in the Thoreau, New Mexico, area.
The Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources and the Navajo Nation Fair announced their selection Aug. 20. This year’s fair theme is “Through water and Mother Earth, we exist,” or “Tó dóó Nihímá Nahasdzáán éí bee iiná.”
Tulley-Cordova is a principal hydrologist with the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources Water Management Branch. Her work includes protecting Navajo Nation water rights in the Colorado River and Rio Grande basins and supporting water infrastructure projects intended to provide more reliable supplies to Navajo communities.
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 27, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow