Water for the Navajo Nation
The Issue
Do you like to take a nice, long, steamy shower? Or have a cool glass of water in the middle of a sweltering summer? Well, if you were in the Navajo Nation, you wouldn't have either of these.
The Navajo Nation consists of land in parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. This covers over 27,000 square miles, larger than 10 out of the 50 United States. They have an ever-rising population of over 250,000 people. So how is it that 30% of the nation doesn't have running water? That is about 75,000 people who don’t have running water or plumbing. They drive miles to get clean water and ration it daily. They also still stick to their commitments of going to work and taking their kids to school.
While most Americans use about 82-100 gallons of water per day, while the average person in the Navajo Nation uses 7 gallons a day. Keep in mind, while 7 gallons doesn’t sound too bad, the human body needs up to 64 oz of water per day, which is half a gallon. The Navajo Nation has done so much for our country. They are a big part of it too. We arrived, stripped them of their land and planted them down on a reservation. But they still helped us in World War II as Navajo code talkers, the only code unbroken. And how do we repay them? We deny their rights to the drinking water of the Colorado river, which is much closer to them. As the Supreme Court said in this case, it was not explicitly stated in the treaty.
Other setbacks include the drought in the states that use the colorado river but it is not worth denying a whole population of Americans water. That is just purely inhumane.
By signing this petition, you are bringing the Navajo Nation one step closer to water rights.
Bibliography:
Navajo Nation. “History.” Www.Navajo-Nsn.Gov 2025, https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/History Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.
Navajo Water Project. “Navajo Water Project.” Navajo Water Project, 2019, https://www.navajowaterproject.org/ Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.
“Water Is Life on the Navajo Reservation.” Rotary Club of Lenexa, 2025, https://lenexarotary.org/stories/water-is-life-on-the-navajo-reservation Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.
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The Issue
Do you like to take a nice, long, steamy shower? Or have a cool glass of water in the middle of a sweltering summer? Well, if you were in the Navajo Nation, you wouldn't have either of these.
The Navajo Nation consists of land in parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. This covers over 27,000 square miles, larger than 10 out of the 50 United States. They have an ever-rising population of over 250,000 people. So how is it that 30% of the nation doesn't have running water? That is about 75,000 people who don’t have running water or plumbing. They drive miles to get clean water and ration it daily. They also still stick to their commitments of going to work and taking their kids to school.
While most Americans use about 82-100 gallons of water per day, while the average person in the Navajo Nation uses 7 gallons a day. Keep in mind, while 7 gallons doesn’t sound too bad, the human body needs up to 64 oz of water per day, which is half a gallon. The Navajo Nation has done so much for our country. They are a big part of it too. We arrived, stripped them of their land and planted them down on a reservation. But they still helped us in World War II as Navajo code talkers, the only code unbroken. And how do we repay them? We deny their rights to the drinking water of the Colorado river, which is much closer to them. As the Supreme Court said in this case, it was not explicitly stated in the treaty.
Other setbacks include the drought in the states that use the colorado river but it is not worth denying a whole population of Americans water. That is just purely inhumane.
By signing this petition, you are bringing the Navajo Nation one step closer to water rights.
Bibliography:
Navajo Nation. “History.” Www.Navajo-Nsn.Gov 2025, https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/History Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.
Navajo Water Project. “Navajo Water Project.” Navajo Water Project, 2019, https://www.navajowaterproject.org/ Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.
“Water Is Life on the Navajo Reservation.” Rotary Club of Lenexa, 2025, https://lenexarotary.org/stories/water-is-life-on-the-navajo-reservation Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.
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Petition created on October 12, 2026