TLE - CARES Act Project
TLE Covid relief and recovery efforts focus on family- and community-based water and food initiatives, to provide immediate relief from critical shortages of water and food, and to strengthen longer term recovery of water and food security.
Despite tight deadlines, the project delivered:
Permission to Survey Applications for 6 well sites including archaeological surveys,
14 wells drilled (9 test, 4 productions, 1 not completed), increasing access to water and valuable hydrologic data.
Water quality sampling of the new wells for analysis for Safe Water Drinking Act standards
293 water filters distributed in 30 communities.
5 new water delivery trucks and 83,100 gallons of water delivered to 64 families in 20 communities.
98 catchment systems and 138 water storage tanks installed in 29 communities; 234,050 gallons of new water storage added.
6 new hoophouses in 4 communities producing food for people in need.
70 local contractors/employees keeping over $1 million in the Navajo economy.
Hoop Houses
Ch'ishie Farms selected and prepared six 6 sites for hoop house installation. The sites are farms on the Navajo Nation with dedicated growers that are experienced in caring for the plants and growing food.
3 sites in Leupp (2 hoop houses at beaver Farms, 1 at Ch’ishie Farms, and 1 at another regional family farm; 1 site in Dilcon at a family farm; and 1 site Ganado at a family farm).
All sites are committed to continue to grow food for distribution to families in need during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, as they can.
Drilling Wells
The Well Lead worked closely with hydrologists associated with the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff and AZCA Drilling and Pumps, TLE’s drilling contractor.
They provided technical assistance to identify locations for wells with the highest likelihood of success based on hydrogeologic conditions and available data from nearby wells.
The team hired Hozho Engineering, a Navajo owned civil/environmental engineering firm, and Westwind Solar, a solar-electric contractor based in Flagstaff, to advise on specifications and design for site-specific water storage and delivery systems, and power sources.
Full Project Report
3-2021 CARES Progress Report FINAL w Attachments.pdfCARE Act Final Report