We woke up early to grab breakfast- included with the hotel stay, so nice! We loaded up on food as we had an active day ahead of us. Once we had our fill, we gathered our things and headed out to a gas station in the Navajo Mountain area to meet up with DigDeep workers- Kaitlyn, Shana, and Joelle. We once again loaded up on gas, water, and bathroom breaks as these would not be available for the rest of the day. After making introductions, we headed out to the first stop of the day- Mr. Manheimer’s house. Mr. Manheimer is a veteran who lives in the Navajo Mountain area and has no access to potable water near his home, even though he lives along the main roadway of the area. When we arrived, other DigDeep workers were already getting started on installing an underground cistern and solar panels to operate a small water pump. Mr. Manheimer already had a tank put in about a decade ago, but this one was no longer functioning and DigDeep determined that it was unsalvageable.
Mr. Manheimer received temporary access to potable water thanks to a covid relief program in which DigDeep distributed 1,000 75-gal at-grade tanks.
These tanks are intended as a temporary solution as they require homeowner maintenance and frequent filling due to their relatively small size. However, it does the trick for now.
Donovan, one of the DigDeep workers, showed us the “suitcase” - a compact pump and filtration center that can be easily maintained by DigDeep and easily operated by the homeowner. It was a pretty impressive design that took a great deal of ingenuity- Donovan was accustomed to tinkering with his motorcycle which served as a good base for arranging this pump system. The suitcase would go above ground, next to the buried cistern, and provide a tap for water access. The newly installed solar panels power the pump inside.
We got the lowdown on operations and typical successes and struggles with this type of implementation. Soon after, the water truck arrived. It was a beautiful beast- so much nicer than the municipal trucks from Joyabaj. The driver, Howard- a man of few words but full of sarcasm, explained to us his daily routine of filling up the truck and distributing the water to homeowners. We then followed him on his trip to the nearest watering point to observe the fill-up process.
The closest watering point was about 15 minutes away, atop an old mine. Back when the mine was contracted to extract materials, part of the deal was to provide a potable water source for the surrounding community. Included in the contract is the commitment to test the water monthly and ensure its operability.
There are many issues on the reservation with contaminated water from mining activity- the most common of which is uranium contamination. Although this watering point doesn’t always flow all day, it is pretty reliable for DigDeep’s purposes. The organization has learned to fill up early in the morning so as to not cause backups for others trying to fill up their personal tanks- they don’t want a bad reputation for something easily avoidable. The bright yellow color of the truck is often mistaken for a construction vehicle which causes riffs between Howard and passer-bys. The water is strictly for drinking purposes and the community doesn’t want to see it wasted on anything else, especially on assumably outsider capital projects. Filling up in the morning minimizes interactions and potential confusion.
We stayed with Howard for the duration of his 45 minute fill-up, during which we learned about the effect of the mining company’s presence and departure on the surrounding community. While the company provided lots of good-paying jobs, it had lasting health effects and most of the employees went into the all too common poverty once the mine closed.
Once the tank was full (a few cars were already lined up waiting for their turn), we followed Howard in the big yellow truck to the next homeowner. This resident needed their covid tank to be power washed. Since these temporary tanks require homeowner maintenance due to the above grade nature of the container (much higher potential for algae growth), DigDeep often gets calls requesting clean-outs of these tanks.
Since these tanks were free, Howard said some residents don’t feel responsibility for the system, but Shana informed me that the homeowners don’t have the resources to maintain them- regular maintenance requires a special brush and ideally a power washer, two things residents don’t have. DigDeep is looking to replace these systems with more permanent underground cisterns, but this takes time that covid didn’t allow.
After Cristian cleaned out the tank, Howard refilled it and we recovered it to protect it from the sun. After that, we headed to the Shanto watering point to conduct a water quality test. Upon arrival Kaitlyn noticed that the point was now noted as being under N2A- an authority under which DigDeep is not allowed to pull water from. Although DigDeep wasn’t sure of the water quality before, now learning that it is under an organization who is reliable for regular testing made Kaitlyn forego the test we would conduct. I instead gave her the test to keep and hand to a worker to test another water point they might be questioning.
We then went back to the gas station for a bathroom break and headed back to Mr. Manheimer’s house. When we got there, the old underground tank was removed and filled in and the new cistern was buried and hooked up to the suitcase and solar panels. As the last bits of dirt were being pushed around to cover the cistern, we chatted and asked our remaining questions to the staff. Once everything was set, we all watched the first flow of water from the tap- so amazing that they did this in less than six hours!
We left before the homeowner came out so that they could maintain their privacy and headed to Flagstaff (“Flag” as everyone calls it) to grab beers with Kaitlyn. This was an hour away from Tuba City, but I think the EWB-CEC staff was pretty hungry for restaurant food and alcohol (sale not allowed on reservation lands). We finally got there and I immediately ordered a burger as I could feel a migraine approaching. I fought it off a fair amount, but the small amount of beer I drink didn’t help. Cristian was a saint and drove us back afterwards.
We were all so exhausted by the time we got back that we went straight to bed!
2025-02-13