Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project, San Juan Lateral Block 9-11

Completed in 2020 by Oscar Renda Contracting, the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project, San Juan Lateral Block 9-11 Project consisted of 28 miles of 48 and 42-inch diameter water transmission steel pipeline between the community of Naschitti, New Mexico and the Twin Lakes. The project is being constructed through the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache reservations. Additional work included: providing 48 and 42-inch sectionalized air and blow off valves ranging from 150 to 300 psi, installation of manholes, installation of two jack and bored crossings and site restoration. For the first two weeks, ORC conducted the work using one crew starting at reach 11, which is 12 miles north of Gallup. The second crew started at the north end of reach 11 and headed south to the break point, which is where the two crews met. Within six months, ORC was able to install 85,000 feet of pipe, totaling about 57% of the entire project. Challenges faced throughout the project included: changing the right-of-way from 150 to 80-feet in various locations, delivering construction water to the job site that is 90 miles away from the closest town and working near Cultural sites. Once completed, the entire program, which runs through the Navajo Nation, will consist of 300 miles of pipeline, two water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants and multiple water storage tanks.