NAVAJO-GALLUP 

WATER SUPPLY PROJECT

NEWSLETTER

October 2023

COMMUNITY

Navajo Nation COVID19 Information:

Website: https://

ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/

covid-19

Ph. 928-871-6350

Hotline: 928-871-7014

Email: nndoh@navajonsn.gov

Job Contact:

Contractor: SJ Louis

Website: https://

www.sjlouis.com/

GET IN TOUCH

Questions/Comments:

Becky Begay

Navajo Outreach 

Coordinator

Ph. 505-408-8516

bbegay@usbr.gov

Contact us:

Bureau of Reclamation

Four Corners Construction 

Office

Ph. 505-324-5000

1235 La Plata Highway

Farmington, NM 87401 

If you would like to learn more, visit our website at:

https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/navajo-gallup/

Ensuring that Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 

Project’s water is safe to drink

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 

Project's San Juan Lateral will use 

the newly acquired Frank Chee 

Willetto Reservoir for water storage, 

located at the northern end of the 

Project. Water will be pumped from 

the San Juan River near Waterflow, 

New Mexico, to fill the reservoir, 

which will be treated to federal, 

Navajo Nation, and state Safe 

Drinking Water Act standards, then 

pumped to feed the NGWSP 

waterline running south to Navajo 

Nation and City of Gallup 

communities.

By Dex Lewis

Civil Engineer 

Bureau of Reclamation

The Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir 

affords the San Juan Lateral with 

several key benefits, one of which is 

to provide close to one month of 

storage at full demand. This will 

allow system operators to shut 

down pumping from the river to 

protect drinking water in the event 

of river contamination, such as an 

incident like the Gold King Mine spill 

of 2015, or high levels of river 

sediment, also known as turbidity. 

Continued on Page 2.

Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir crest looking west.
2

Water safe to drink

Continued from Page 1.

Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir intake location looking north. 

In preparation for acquiring the 

San Juan Generating Station 

reservoir, the Bureau of 

Reclamation worked with the 

United States Geological Survey 

(USGS) to perform surface water 

quality analysis and groundwater 

coring operations at the reservoir 

and nearby arroyos for over four 

years to ensure that the water 

within the reservoir would be safe 

for consumption. The USGS also 

cored and sampled the sediment 

in the reservoir bottom. Previously, 

the primary purpose for the 

reservoir was for cooling water 

and mine reclamation of the 

former San Juan Generating 

Station operated by PNM, which is 

currently undergoing 

decommissioning. Unlike nearby 

Morgan Lake at the Four Corners 

Power Plant owned by Arizona 

Public Service, water that was used 

for cooling the SJGS power plant 

when it operated was not recycled 

back into the reservoir. The results 

of routine water quality sampling 

PNM conducted of the reservoir as 

part of regulatory obligations were 

also reviewed by Reclamation, 

who found no concerns.

All results confirmed that the 

reservoir, now named the Frank 

Chee Willetto Reservoir, is a clean 

source of drinking water and was 

not contaminated by the 50-plus 

years of nearby power plant 

operations. The water quality in 

the reservoir is the same as the 

water from which it is sourced in 

the San Juan River, and 

Reclamation will continue to 

perform quarterly water quality 

sampling of the reservoir in 

support of the design and future 

operations of the San Juan Lateral 

Water Treatment Plant. 

The water quality efforts focused 

on analysis of possible heavy 

metal contamination from the 

nearby power plant and the river 

which were determined to be 

within naturally occurring levels. 

Other potential contamination 

threats to the reservoir, such as 

active and abandoned oil and gas 

wells, were also researched by 

Reclamation to provide awareness 

to the public but were deemed as 

very low potential threats to 

Willetto Reservoir and its water 

quality. 

“Reclamation has identified Frank 

Chee Willetto Reservoir as not 

only in good structural condition, 

but also of better water quality 

than the river with low levels of 

heavy metals easily treated by the 

water treatment plant. It will be

an excellent source of drinking 

water for the Navajo and City of 

Gallup communities to be served,” 

said Reclamation Four Corners 

Construction Office, Construction 

Engineer & Manager Bart Deming.
3

Construction update

By Ryan Royer 

Design and Commissioning 

Group Chief, Bureau of 

Reclamation

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 

Project continues marching on! 

The Cutter Lateral Water 

Treatment plant has been 

providing a clean, reliable source 

of water to the eastern 

checkerboard portions of the 

Navajo and Jicarilla Apache 

Nations for almost three years. 

The construction on the San Juan 

Lateral portion of the project is in 

full swing, and to date, 

approximately 285 miles of 

pipeline has been installed or is 

under contract. Currently, four 

pumping plants are under 

construction with Tooh Haltsooi 

(Pumping Plant 4) and Bahastł’ah 

(Pumping Plant 7) nearing 

completion by next spring. Tsé 

Da’azkání (Pumping Plant 2) and 

Tó Ałts’íísí (Pumping Plant 3) are 

under contract, and the contractor 

has broken ground with massive 

rock crushing and earth moving 

efforts easily visible from highway 

491.

Currently, four pumping plants are 

under construction with Tooh 

Haltsooi (Pumping Plant 4) and 

Bahastł’ah (Pumping Plant 7) 

nearing completion by next spring. 

Tsé Da’azkání (Pumping Plant 2) 

and Tó Ałts’íísí (Pumping Plant 3) 

are under contract, and the 

contractor has broken ground with 

massive rock crushing and earth 

moving efforts easily visible from 

Highway 491.

The structures of Tooh Haltsooi Pumping 

Plant (#4) from the viewpoint atop the newly 

constructed 1 million gallon water storage 

tank. Note highway 491 in the background.

An aerial look of the near finished Bahastł’ah Pumping Plant (#7).

Reach 4A and 4B, which start just 

north of Tó Ałts’íísí in Sanostee 

Chapter, are under contract and 

clearing and grubbing activities 

are commencing. Expect to see 

large stockpiles of 42” diameter 

pipe being stored or strung out in 

the coming months as the 

contractor progresses!

Furthermore, miles upon miles of 

pipeline are being trenched, laid 

and/or pulled into its final resting 

place. Navajo Code Talkers 

Sublateral, traversing from YahTah-Hey Junction west on the 

north side of Highway 264, has 

installed over 7 miles of 30” and 

24” diameter pipe and multiple 

Horizontal Directional Drills 

(HDDs) under washes and through 

difficult terrain. One large 

structure under construction on 

Navajo Code Talkers is the Black 

Hat Storage Tank, which will hold 

1.5 million gallons of water when 

completed.

 

Reclamation’s partners are 

continuing to make progress on 

their reaches. The Gallup Regional 

System is more than 75% 

complete and work is beginning 

on the latest phase on the east 

side of Gallup with Reach 27.7B. 

Indian Health Service is set to 

begin construction on Reaches 

14.1 and 14.2 in the Churchrock 

and Iyanbito Chapters this fall. 

The Navajo Nation is nearing final 

design completion on the Beacon 

Bisti N9 Sublateral and 

construction is set to begin on 

Reach 10.1.1, the Coyote Canyon 

community connection, this 

winter. Overall, the San Juan 

Lateral is more than 50% 

complete.

The near completed pipe discharge manifold 

on the interior of Bahastł’ah Pumping Plant.
4

My name is Becky Begay I am born 

to the Salt People and born for the 

Bitter Water People. My maternal 

grandfathers are the Many Hogan 

People, and my paternal 

grandfathers are the Folded Arms 

People. I am from Fruitland, New 

Mexico and I am the Navajo 

Outreach Coordinator for 

Reclamation’s Four Corners 

Construction Office in Farmington, 

New Mexico where I have worked 

for about eight years. 

I grew up in the traditional way of 

life in Fruitland and Mexican Hat, 

Utah, raised by my maternal and 

paternal grandparents. I 

understand how important it is to 

protect and care for our 

environment and help our People. 

One of my primary duties is 

conducting public outreach for the 

NGWSP which has been under 

construction since 2012 to bring 

drinking water to the Navajo 

Nation in the state of New Mexico. 

Nenahnezad Navajo Nation Chapter students learning the importance of the project.

My job consists of attending 

chapter meetings and giving 

construction updates, answering 

questions about the project, and 

setting-up meetings with 

community members to discuss 

their concerns. I organize and 

manage the NGWSP booth at the 

Window Rock Fair each year, along 

with office employee volunteers. I 

also help educate high school and 

college students about the project 

during the Chapters summer 

programs. The students begin to 

understand the importance of the 

water project to their community, 

the amount of work and 

challenges associated with 

constructing the project, the 

number of years it takes, and the 

amount of time it took the Navajo 

Nation to get their water right 

settlement within the state of New 

Mexico (55 years!). 

Becky Begay and Jacqueline Melton (General 

Supply Specialist) working at the Navajo 

Nation Fair in Window Rock, Arizona in 2017. 

The Four Corners Construction Office sets-up 

a booth to distribute NGWSP information to 

Navajo Nation community members. 

I enjoy my job in helping my 

people, getting to know new clan 

relatives, and visiting places I have 

never been. I understand how 

important it is to acknowledge the 

difficult and horrible history 

between our tribe and the federal 

government and work towards 

rebuilding trust and creating a 

positive relationship between 

Reclamation and our community 

members. My goal is to make a 

difference and help in completing 

the drinking water project for my 

people. 

Becky Begay conducting outreach within the 

Sheep Springs Navajo Chapter. Becky travels 

from house to house to inform community 

member on location of the construction of 

the NGWSP.

Faces of NGWSP
5

San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant design-build project

By Moncef Tihami

Office of Engineering Division 

Manager 

Bureau of Reclamation

As the means of treating and 

supplying safe drinking water to 

Navajo Nation communities and 

the City of Gallup, the San Juan 

Lateral Water Treatment Plant will 

be the keystone project, the 

crowning achievement, and the 

largest contract issued on the 

Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 

Project. Comparing it to a vehicle, 

the SJLWTP is the engine that 

drives San Juan Lateral. Water will 

be pumped from the river near 

Waterflow, New Mexico to the 

Frank Chee Willetto Reservoir 

where it will then feed the SJLWTP 

for treatment to provide clean and 

reliable drinking water to Navajo 

Nation communities and the city 

of Gallup. The principal 

components of work for the 

SJLWTP include the design, 

construction, startup, 

commissioning, and operations 

and maintenance of a new fully 

functional 18.8 million gallons per 

day (mgd) water treatment plant 

with the capability to expand to 

37.6 mgd in the future as 

demands increase above this initial 

phase capacity. The water 

treatment plant is being designed 

similar to the Cutter Lateral 

SJLWTP with similar treatment 

systems that will allow the Navajo 

Tribal Utility Authority the 

flexibility to use an operations 

team that can operate either plant 

as needed. The SJLWTP will also 

include a treated water pumping 

plant that will send treated 

drinking water south to Pumping 

Plant 2 and downstream to Navajo 

and Gallup communities.

On March 10, Reclamation issued 

a Request for Proposal (RFP) 

requesting offerors to submit their 

proposals for the design and 

construction of the SJLWTP. 

Through this contract, 

Reclamation will select and 

oversee the most qualified design 

and construction team for 

completion of the SJLWTP. The 

design teams have already begun 

preliminary designs for the 

SJLWTP as they work to provide 

design proposals for selection by 

Reclamation. These proposals will 

be reviewed in early 2024 with 

Reclamation’s stakeholders, at 

which time the winning team will 

be selected to begin final design 

and move towards construction, 

anticipated to begin by mid-year 

2025. Construction is expected to 

be completed in the summer of 

2028 when the first water 

deliveries to Navajo Nation 

communities and the City of 

Gallup can begin.

Location of the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant.

Community Meetings

• Project Construction 

Committee (PCC)

Location: El Moro HotelGallup, NM

Oct. 26, 2023

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

• Sanostee Chapter Meeting

Location: Sanostee Chapter 

House

Nov. 19, 2023

1p.m. - 4 p.m.

• Beacon Bisti/N9-

BBN9 Meeting

Location: lyanbito 

Chapter House

Dec. 20, 2023

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.