To protect and manage the water resources of the Navajo Nation through development, reviewing and enforcement of sound water management, regulation, and planning policies. Support of the Navajo Nation Water Code, the monitoring and inventory of all water resources data, and technical support to the Navajo Nation on water rights litigation and negotiations.
To monitor the Navajo Nation’s water resources, protecting its water rights, restore its watersheds and managing its water resources. Water Management Branch develops water management policies, analyzes and describes the Nation’s water use and demand, identifies water infrastructure deficiencies, and develops long-term water resource plans for municipal and non-municipal (irrigation, livestock, and industrial) uses.
Total Navajo domestic water use is approximately 12,000 acre-feet annually. Forty percent of the Navajo Nation households haul water for domestic use. Navajo per capita water use on the reservation ranges from 10 gallons per day for water haulers to 100 gallons per day for those living in larger communities and have running water. Most non-Navajo communities in the region use more than 200 gallons per day. Approximately 20,000 acres of small Navajo farms use approximately 100,000 acre-feet of water annually. This acreage does not include historically irrigated lands. The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project irrigates approximately 60,000 acres and diverts approximately 206,000 acre-feet per year. When completed, it will irrigate 110,630 acres of land and divert 508,000 acre-feet per year. The estimated 300,000 permitted animal units obtain water from approximately 900 windmills and 7,000 stock ponds across the Navajo Nation. Industrial and mining water use in the region is approximately 75,000 acre-feet per year. In Black Mesa, Arizona, the Peabody Coal Company uses approximately 4,500 acre-feet annually.