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$43-million water project to bring clean tap access to Western Navajo

$43-million water project to bring clean tap access to Western Navajo

By Donovan Quintero and Krista Allen
Navajo Times

LECHEE, Ariz.

A major water infrastructure project is underway that will deliver clean, dependable water to the LeChee Chapter and the growing Antelope Canyon Economic Development Corridor.

$43-million water project to bring clean tap access to Western Navajo

Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Recreationists navigate the Colorado River on Lake Powell, with the iconic Tower Butte rises in the distance near Ts’ah Bii Kin, Ariz.

Known as the LeChee Water System Improvement project, the $43 million effort is the largest among the Western Navajo Pipeline Phase I developments and is a key step toward securing long-term water access for communities in the region.

“This is not a secret,” said Naatsis’áán native Earl Tully, the Chinle Agency commissioner for the Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission, Wednesday morning at a water blessing/groundbreaking ceremony near Antelope Point. “It’s sacred. And therefore, we give true reverence in that aspect of it.”

Once completed, the project will draw water from the Colorado River – Bits’íís Ninéézi –through the Colorado River Lake Powell Intake Facility and carry it to the LeChee area to support municipal, commercial, and industrial needs. It is specifically designed to meet both present and future demand, with the capacity to support community expansion and economic development in the coming decades.

$43-million water project to bring clean tap access to Western Navajo

Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Diné leaders and community members break ground during the LeChee Water System Improvements Project ceremony on Wednesday morning in LeChee, Ariz.

Tully said the pump, originally constructed in the mid-1960s, was always expected to one day serve the Navajo Nation. That vision is now becoming reality.
Historically, the Nation has remained physically and politically distanced from Lake Powell, with access often restricted – always 100 feet back from the shoreline, whether the lake was full or not. But now, Tully said, this project changes that. The Navajo Nation finally has its pipeline – or “straw” – drawing water directly from Bits’íís Ninéézi to nearby communities.

To read the full article, please see the June 19, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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