By Nicholas House
Sun Correspondent
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., announced Jan. 7 that he has secured $55 million in additional federal funding for the Navajo–Gallup Water Supply Project, along with language capping the City of Gallup’s total financial contribution to the long-delayed infrastructure project.
During a press call, Heinrich said the funding and cost cap are included in a Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations conference bill that has been negotiated by House and Senate leadership. The bill still must pass Congress and be signed by President Donald Trump.
Once enacted, the legislation would cap Gallup’s total contribution to the NGWSP at $76 million.
The city originally agreed in 2009 to contribute $54 million, but cost inflation over the past 15 years placed Gallup at risk of absorbing tens of millions more in additional costs.
“This cost cap will save Gallup from footing an additional $70 million or more over the remaining course of the project,” Heinrich said.
He said that without the cap, Gallup risked being unable to remain financially viable while continuing to participate in the project.
The NGWSP was authorized in 2009 to settle Navajo Nation water rights in the San Juan Basin and deliver clean, reliable water to hundreds of thousands of residents across the Navajo Nation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City of Gallup. The project is intended to replace reliance on a rapidly depleting and poor-quality groundwater supply.
In addition to the cost cap, Heinrich said the $55 million in congressionally directed funding would move the project closer to completion. Combined, the measures are intended to keep Gallup fully participating in the project while ensuring long-term water access for the region.
Heinrich said Gallup officials made clear last year that the city could not continue paying beyond its original commitment, prompting the push for a federal cap.
“I really didn’t want to see Gallup falling out of the project in any way,” he said. “Gallup has really been responsible and done everything they can do, and we needed to meet them halfway.”
The appropriations package also includes $115,000 for the Gallup Police Department to purchase crime-solving software and related technology aimed at improving public safety.
Heinrich said the funding is part of a broader effort to expand access to forensic and investigative tools outside major metropolitan areas. He noted that law enforcement agencies in rural New Mexico often must transport evidence long distances for analysis, slowing investigations.
“We needed more software and more ballistics and DNA analysis available outside of the metro areas,” Heinrich said.
He described the Gallup funding as a continuation of earlier statewide efforts to expand forensic capacity.
If approved, the FY26 appropriations bill would also provide funding for additional projects across Northwest New Mexico, though Heinrich emphasized that securing the water project funding and the Gallup cost cap were among the most critical outcomes of the current budget cycle.
Heinrich said he will continue monitoring the NGWSP through his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee until water is delivered to communities across the region.
“We’re going to bird-dog this project until water is coming out of people’s taps,” he said.
Heinrich also secured $1 million for San Juan County to purchase a new ladder truck, $1 million for the Zuni Pueblo to make improvements to their drinking water system, and $275,000 for Conservation Legacy to renovate and repair a Zuni Pueblo building for the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps.
