The Sun Lakes Rotary Club is working on a Rotary Foundation Global Water Grant to provide homes on the Navajo Nation with inside running tap water. There are over 200,000 Native Americans living on 25,000 square miles of land with 40 percent without inside tap water and/or a toilet along with 44 percent of the children in poverty.

It is estimated that the average American home consumes 100 gallons of water per day while the average Navajo home consumes seven (7) gallons per day. Or putting it another way, todays toilet uses 3.5 to 5 gallons per flush. So, two (2) flushes per day can exceed a day use of water. And what about: Laundry? Bathing? Cooking? Having a glass of water?

Many of these people, our Arizona neighbors, presently have their water delivered into 50 gallon holding barrels in their yards by a water truck and then into the home by small container. Our goal is to install underground cisterns which pump running tap water into 25 or more selected homes at a cost of $4,500 per home. The homes are located within a 70-mile radius of Thoreau, New Mexico which is close to Gallup, New Mexico.

Once the funding goal of $112,000 or more has been reached, the Sun Lakes Rotary Club will work with DigDeep which supplies and installs the total water system at each home. The water system consists of a 1,200 gallon in ground cistern, electric pump, sink, solar panel, battery, filter, heater and gray water leach field.

This PBS video tells more of the story.