Hometown H2O & Navajo Water Project
Waterboys has always been focused on bringing clean water to people who need it. And those people can be anywhere—from halfway around the world, to right here in our own backyards.
That’s why we launched Hometown H2O to provide clean water to American communities, households, and schools. And it’s why today we’re announcing a $100,000 gift to DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project—a gift that will help bring clean water to hundreds of Navajo families, many for the first time ever.
Today, over 2 million Americans don’t have running water at home. That means every day, millions of people have to walk or drive miles to collect water, and then measure it out carefully in order to brush their teeth, wash dishes, or take a bath. Some of the water isn’t safe to drink. And if they need to use the bathroom, they have to go outside. For these families and communities, there is no turning on a faucet and getting water; There is no faucet.
Lack of clean water is a problem for Americans of every race and nationality. But, like so many issues, it affects some more than others. Black and Latino households are twice as likely as white households to lack indoor plumbing, and Native American households are 19 times as likely. Across the Navajo Nation—America’s largest Sovereign Indigenous Nation—one out of every three households don’t have a tap or a flushing toilet.
So access to clean water is a civil rights issue. It’s a social equality issue. But it’s also a public health issue—especially in a global pandemic.
Today, one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to wash your hands frequently. That’s a lot harder if you don’t have running water at home. It’s part of the reason why, in May, the Navajo Nation had the highest number of COVID infections per capita—ahead of New York and New Jersey. And as cases continue to rise across the South and West, the Navajo are at even greater risk.
Our gift is designed to help reverse this trend. Working with DigDeep, we will help install water tanks for 200 Navajo families affected by COVID who don’t currently have running water at home. Each family’s 275-gallon water tank will be connected to the Navajo Water Project’s water trucking route, providing safe, clean water.
We will also help Dig Deep install Home Water Systems for families living on rural parts of the Navajo Nation—providing water and electricity for the first time. Each Home Water System provides 1,200 gallons of clean, hot and cold running water that is replenished monthly through a water trucking system. It also helps generate solar power.
Our work with the Navajo Nation and DigDeep will be the third major focus area for our Hometown H20 program. We’re also working to drill wells for low-income households in rural and tribal areas, and installing filtered water fountains at schools so students and teachers in rural areas can have access to safe drinking water.
If you’re interested in helping us do even more to give everyone—including members of the Navajo Nation—equal access to water, you can join our team here.