Hopi CARES Project Receives 2022 NGWA Groundwater Supply Project Award

Hopi Orayvi Well drill siteDBS&A and our Hopi CARES Water Supply Project was recognized as recipient of the 2022 National Ground Water Association (NGWA) Outstanding Groundwater Supply Project Award.  DBS&A completed this project for the Hopi Tribe located in northern Arizona.

The NGWA Groundwater Supply Award recognizes outstanding science, engineering, and/or contractor innovation that resulted in recent signi­ficant positive change, in the area of supplying groundwater. The presentation of awards will occur during the 2022 NGWA Groundwater Week taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 6-8, 2022.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hopi CARES Water Supply Project was implemented in two phases; the majority of project tasks were completed in just over four months through the fall and winter of 2020. This accelerated schedule meant that the project planning and well designs needed to be completed, and well construction materials ordered quickly, to meet the funding deadline at the end of the calendar year.

The first phase occurred in 2020, DBS&A completed four new water supply wells and installed six new pumping systems, using funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Hopi CARES Water Supply Project is providing new groundwater supplies to the Villages of Orayvi and Moenkopi, in addition to the Villages of Shungopavi, Mishongovi, Sipaulovi, and Polacca, and the Hopi Health Care Center, by providing drinking water to the Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project (HAMP) regional water system.

The drill crews at National EWP, Hopi staff, and DBS&A hydrogeologists worked around the clock, in coordination with material suppliers, HUC staff, and Hopi administration, to successfully complete this initial phase of the Hopi CARES Water Supply Project work, resulting in five water supply wells being brought online by December 31, 2020.

In 2021, the second phase included the design and installation of a water supply well and pumping system by Stewart Brothers Drilling for the Village of Upper Moenkopi. Also, two water dispensing systems were installed to allow access to the water right way before installation of a new water pipeline.

Hopi Utilities Corporation (HUC) and DBS&A worked together with the Hopi Administration and Hopi Department of Natural Resources, including the Hopi Water Resources Program, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, and Hopi Land Office, to obtain approvals and to complete the project according to the Hopi Tribe’s CARES project guidelines.

Completion of the Hopi CARES Water Supply Project is improving the health and well-being of the community on the Hopi Reservation. The project brought four new and two existing but previously unequipped water supply wells on-line. The addition of these six wells has increased water supply on the Hopi Reservation by approximately 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm), including providing water supply in areas where residents had previously been hauling water. While completed remarkably quickly, the project’s real achievement is in meeting the Hopi community’s long-time need for a high quality, reliable water supply, in critical locations.  With the Orayvi Well, the community residents no longer have to haul water from other villages.  Side Rock Wells 2 and 3 will help meet the water demands for the Villages of Moencopi and Upper Moenkopi, where the previous water supply wells are experiencing diminished flow.  HAMP Wells 2, 3, and 4 are connected to the newly constructed water transmission system that is providing groundwater to over 860 homes, businesses, and the Hopi Health Care Center, with arsenic concentrations that meet the Hopi Water Quality and EPA primary drinking water standards.  Securing this safe water supply is a significant, positive change that will contribute to improving the health and quality of life of the Hopi community.

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