Heinrich seeks $55 million boost, cost cap to keep Navajo Gallup water project on track
By Krista Allen
Navajo Times
TUBA CITY – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said a new round of federal funding and a proposed cost cap on Gallup’s share of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project could keep the city in a long-delayed effort to deliver reliable drinking water across northwest New Mexico and Eastern Navajo.
Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, said he secured $55 million for the water project in fiscal 2026 appropriations bills and secured language that would cap Gallup’s total contribution at $76 million.
The money is part of a $57.5 million package Heinrich said he secured for communities in Gallup and Farmington, San Juan County, Zuni Pueblo and the Navajo Nation.
Congress still must approve the spending bills and the president must sign them before the funds can be spent.
Gallup agreed in 2009 to contribute $54 million, but rising costs over the past 15 years put the city at risk of absorbing tens of millions more, Heinrich said during a press call Jan. 7, 2026.
“This cost cap will save Gallup from footing an additional $70 million or more over the remaining course of the project,” Heinrich said.
Heinrich said city leaders made clear last year that Gallup could not continue paying beyond its original commitment, a warning that pushed the effort to establish a federal cap.
“I really didn’t want to see Gallup falling out of the project in any way,” he said. “Gallup has really been responsible and done everything they can do, and we needed to meet them halfway.”
To read the full article, please see the Jan. 15, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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