Home/Settlements/Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights)
Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights)
Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah · NM · enacted 2009 Enacted
Tribe(s)
Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
State(s)
NM
Enacted
2009
Public law
Funds authorized
$984.1M
CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Authorized Federal Cost (nominal, $ in millions)': $984.1 million
Water quantified
535,330 AF/yr
CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Total Acre-Feet Awarded per Year': 535,330 AF/yr
River basin / system
San Juan River (Colorado River system) (New Mexico)
src: usbr.gov
Source discrepancy on record: {"field":"name","doi":"Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights)","crs":"Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project/Navajo Nation Water Rights)"}
Adjudication record (NM Office of the State Engineer)
Case caption (as printed)
not stated in sources reviewed
Court
Eleventh Judicial District Court - San Juan River Basin Adjudication
Case number (as printed)
not stated in sources reviewed
Status as described by OSE
'The San Juan River adjudication court conducted an expedited inter se proceeding and on November 1, 2013, entered two Partial Final Judgments and Decrees ("decrees") adjudicating the water rights of the Navajo Nation. Appeals of the decrees are pending before the NM Supreme Court.' Also: the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project pipeline is described as 'currently under construction by the Bureau of Reclamation'. NOTE: the OSE page carries no update date; the 'appeals pending' statement is reproduced as printed with unknown vintage.
Key dates
- Settlement agreement executed by the Navajo Nation and the State of New Mexico: April 19, 2005 source
- Federal authorizing legislation signed: March 30, 2009 source
- Revised settlement agreement, with the United States, executed: December 17, 2010 source
- Two Partial Final Judgments and Decrees entered adjudicating the water rights of the Navajo Nation: November 1, 2013 source
- San Juan adjudication complaint date (La Plata section of OSE adjudication page): March 13, 1975 source
Primary documents
- San Juan Basin/Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement (ose.nm.gov)
- San Juan River Basin in New Mexico Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement, December 2010 (ose.nm.gov)
- Order Granting the Settlement Motion for Entry of Partial Final Decrees Describing the Water Rights of the Navajo Nation (ose.nm.gov)
- Partial Final Decree of the Water Rights of the Navajo Nation (ose.nm.gov)
- Supplemental Partial Final Judgment and Decree of the Water Rights of the Navajo Nation. (ose.nm.gov)
- State of New Mexico/United States Cost Share Agreement for the Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement (ose.nm.gov)
- Northwestern NM Rural Water Projects Act, PL 111-11 (usbr.gov)
- New Mexico Courts San Juan River Basin (SJRB) Water Rights Adjudication Website (sjrbadjudication.nmcourts.gov)
Status as of 2026-09-01 (site compilation date). Settlement implementation and related litigation continue after enactment; verify against the official record before relying on any statement here.
Sources
- DOI Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office — Enacted Indian Water Rights Settlements (doi.gov, retrieved 2026-09-01)
- CRS Report R44148, Indian Water Rights Settlements, updated June 17, 2025, Table 1 (congress.gov, retrieved 2026-09-01)
Related: reserved-rights doctrine · case law · all settlements