24-03-2025
Hopi awarded more than $4 million for water infrastructure project
Daniel Herrera CarbajalICT
The Hopi Tribe has been awarded more than $4 million for a solar-powered microgrid to advance its energy and water funds, awarded from the Department of Energy, will be used to build a 250-kilowatt, solar-powered microgrid to power two wells at the unelectrified Side Rock Well Field located on the Hopi Reservation in northeast wells will deliver water to the villages of Upper and Lower Moenkopi via a pipeline that is currently under construction.'It'll be bringing much-needed water to the village of Moencopi on the Hopi Reservation,' Hopi tribal council representative Leroy Shingoitewa told Arizona Democratic senators, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, announced the news.'I'm excited to announce that the Hopi Tribe has been awarded over $4 million to help secure its energy and water future,' said Gallego. 'Clean water is vital for community health and economic development, and this innovative project will ensure that some of the most remote parts of the Hopi Reservation have reliable access for years to come.''This project means Hopi families will have a steady, reliable water source,' said Kelly. 'By using solar power to run these wells, they're lowering costs and making sure the community has the water it needs for years to come.'The addition of a microgrid is part of a larger, ongoing project – Side Rock Water Supply project, which aims to provide a reliable water source for the Hopi Tribe.A microgrid is a self-contained electrical network that can work independently from the main power grid or alongside it. The new Hopi microgrid will work independently from its main power the Upper and Lower Moencopi villages are disconnected from the rest of Hopi Tribe. The Hopi Tribe is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, but the Moencopi village is separated from the main Hopi land. Shingoitewa told ICT that this leaves Moencopi far from the main Hopi water supply.'We live on the western portion of the reservation approximately 55 miles away from the Hopi tribal headquarters, and we really are kind of sitting on an island outside of the main Hopi Reservation,'Shingoitewa told Moencopi village has wells, but the water produced from them is not 'adequate,' said to the U.S. Department of Energy, the current water source is now insufficient for community needs.'With the money that's now gonna be available for the wells to bring water here, we will have the opportunity to provide more water to meet the needs of our people here in our village … and also for the future,' said fight for water is ongoing for tribal nations, with many tribes still fighting for their water rights in Kelly and Gallego introduced the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025, which was referred to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. A version of the act also has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both houses of Congress would need to pass the legislation, which would ratify and fund the largest Indian water rights settlement in the country. It would secure water rights for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.
The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement will settle the three tribes' claims to the main stem of the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River, and relevant groundwater sources in Arizona. It will guarantee the tribes' access to over 56,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water, with specific groundwater rights and agreement also requires the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation to leave 17,050 acre-feet per year of Arizona Upper Basin water in Lake Powell for the first 20 years.'This is a truly historic moment for our Tribe and for our sister tribes. Clean, running water and permanent homes are luxuries our people have gone too long without,' said San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe President Carlene Yellowhair in a press release. 'This legislation will ensure we have these basic human rights now and into the future. We are grateful to Senator Kelly, Senator Gallego, Congressman Ciscomani, Congressman Stanton, and the entire Arizona Delegation for their continued support for this important legislation.'
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