Generations of Navajo families in Westwater, a small community just outside Blanding, lived for decades without basic utilities, hauling water from a spring or from town to meet daily needs. After years of resilience and advocacy, they are now celebrating a life-changing milestone: running water in their homes.
“For many years we’ve been using this beautiful water and its sustained life,” said Thomas Chee, Westwater community president, speaking at the spring where families have long gathered water. “Water is a precious resource and some people take it for granted … it’s been a long time coming for my people to have this infrastructure.”
On Friday, Westwater residents joined tribal leaders, state officials and nonprofit partners at Utah State University’s Blanding campus to mark the substantial completion of the Westwater water project, a four-year effort that brought municipal drinking water to the neighborhood for the first time.
Among those celebrating were Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, state Rep. Logan Monson and other local, state and nonprofit leaders who helped champion the project. Nygren, who was born in Blanding and grew up without running water in Utah, took office as president in 2023. He said the milestone reflects the hard work and persistence of the community and its supporters.
“As president, my priority has always been water, water, water,” Nygren said. “I know what it’s like to haul water and to take water from the local gas stations. It’s tough, it’s things that our kids and relatives shouldn’t be going through. But moving forward, the Westwater community is not going to have those struggles.”
Although not every home is yet connected, Chee said the first households received water about three weeks ago, and work is ongoing to complete the remaining hookups.
Westwater, home to about 100 residents across roughly 22 homes on 120 acres of Navajo Nation-owned land, sits just across a canyon from Blanding. Despite the short distance — the USU-Blanding campus is visible from Westwater — families lived for generations without electricity, plumbing or modern services.
The Navajo Nation purchased the land in 1986, but Westwater’s “fee simple” status — meaning it is taxed and not held in federal trust — created longstanding challenges over jurisdiction and infrastructure responsibility. For years, Westwater residents remained caught between the Navajo Nation, the City of Blanding, San Juan County and the State of Utah.
Progress began in 2020 when the Utah Legislature appropriated $500,000 to bring electricity to the community, matched by a $500,000 contribution from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Electricity reached Westwater in 2022. That same year, agreements among the Navajo Nation, the State of Utah, Blanding, San Juan County and nonprofit organizations launched the effort to deliver clean water.
The water project was supported by multiple funding partners: The Navajo Nation contributed more than $5.5 million for construction, the State of Utah allocated $3.5 million through American Rescue Plan Act funds, and San Juan County provided in-kind services. The Utah Navajo Trust Fund added $160,000 for easements and design support, with nonprofits including DigDeep and RCAC helping coordinate the effort.
At Friday’s event, Henderson praised the Westwater community’s resilience and said the milestone represented more than just the installation of infrastructure.
“The reason this project is so important is far bigger than the families who benefit from the connection of water to their community,” Henderson said. “It’s about what it says about us as a state — as a people who recognize that we are only as strong and good as the way we treat the most vulnerable in our communities.”
(Andrew Christiansen | The Times-Independent) Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson speaks to Westwater residents and project partners during a celebration at USU-Blanding, April 25, 2025.
She said the collaboration that brought the project to fruition should serve as a model for tackling future challenges.
“What this project shows is that the impossible becomes possible when we work together,” Henderson said. “We find our way around obstacles by staying at the table, by recognizing that we are all part of something bigger.”
Chee said finding funding was one of the greatest hurdles, but credited engineers, technicians, tribal members, government leaders, nonprofit partners and many others for coming together to make the project possible.
“It was tough — we had our ups and downs,” he said. “[But] every time we got put down, we would get back up and start all over again.”
In the end, Chee said, “all the prayers and thoughts and all the people that came together — they made that miracle happen.”
Ryan Barton, a hydrologist with the Navajo Nation Water Management Branch who helped lead the project, said steady meetings and persistence helped build momentum after a slow start during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that similar efforts to connect Navajo families to municipal water systems have been successful in the past, and a project is now being explored for families living east of Bluff, south of St. Christopher’s Mission.
Crystal Tulley-Cordova, principal hydrologist with the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, said the success in Westwater offers hope for other underserved areas across the Navajo Nation.
“If you have basic infrastructure, you can have more housing, you can have economic development growth,” she said. “It really improves the overall lifestyle for these families … not only for their generation right now, but for generations to come.”
Tribal officials estimate that about 30% to 40% of homes across the Navajo Nation still lack access to running water.
(Andrew Christiansen | The Times-Independent) Westwater, a Navajo community home to about 100 residents, connected to Blanding’s municipal water system in 2025 after a four-year collaborative effort.
Kennedy, who wasn’t involved in the project since he was recently elected, said the project symbolizes the broader need to address gaps in water access across the country.
“No citizen of the Navajo Nation or the United States should have a challenge for clean and accessible water,” Kennedy said. “This achievement gives us a clarion call to continue that work.”
Monson, who previously served as mayor of Blanding, said the project showed what was possible when communities come together.
“This project is a testament to what can happen when people come together — city, county, tribal, state, religious and federal partners deciding that working together matters more than who gets credit,” Monson said.
Looking ahead, Chee and Barton said Westwater leaders hope to secure funding for a long-term wastewater system to replace aging septic tanks. Some homes still await final water connections, but officials said those are on track for completion.
Despite the challenges ahead, Chee said he hopes Westwater’s story inspires other communities still waiting for basic services.
“My message is keep the faith and the hope,” he said. “Leaders will hear you, and I’m sure they will take great efforts to help people in need.”
This story was first published by The Times-Independent.
