Bureau of Reclamation advances Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project with $67.7 million contract for construction of the project’s San Juan River intake facility

FARMINGTON, N.M. ─ The Bureau of Reclamation is advancing the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project with a $67.7 million contract to construct the San Juan Lateral's river intake and pumping plant in northwest New Mexico. The Bureau of Reclamation awarded the contract to Ames Federal Contracting Group, LLC.

"This award marks construction of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project's final major pumping plant and represents a critical step forward," said Assistant Secretary - Water and Science Andrea Travnicek. "This project represents the Trump administration's commitment to improving critical infrastructure and will deliver essential water to the Navajo Nation, where more than one in three people still live without indoor plumbing and must haul water to their homes."

The river intake and pumping plant will serve as the diversion facility for the San Juan Lateral, directing water from the San Juan River into the pipeline system that supplies the Navajo Nation and the city of Gallup.

Planned improvements include hydraulic refinements and installation of modern automation and control systems capable of regulating diversion rates in response to downstream demand within the San Juan Lateral system. These upgrades will enable remote monitoring and control and improved operational efficiency consistent with Reclamation standards.

"This facility will serve as the diversion point for water that will be delivered throughout the entire San Juan Lateral and into the communities that depend on it," said Reclamation Acting Commissioner Scott Cameron. "This is great progress on an important project to the Navajo Nation, northwestern New Mexico and to Reclamation."

This contract is funded through $55 million of Community Funding appropriated in Public Law 119-74 and $12.7 million from previously appropriated funds.

The San Juan Lateral is more than 70% complete, with initial water deliveries expected in late 2028 and full project completion by the end of 2029.

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is the cornerstone of the Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement in the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico. Authorized by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, construction began in 2012. When finished, the project will include about 300 miles of pipeline, two water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants and multiple water storage tanks.

For more information, visit the NGWSP website.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits.