In the vast landscapes of the American Southwest, the legacy of uranium mining has left a significant impact on the residents of the Navajo Nation. Efforts are underway to address the resulting health and environmental challenges, with Northern Arizona University’s Professor Jani Ingram leading a team to ensure these communities have access to safe drinking water.
Approximately one-third of the Navajo Nation’s households lack piped water, relying instead on well water, which is not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. This poses a significant risk, as many wells are contaminated due to the region’s historical uranium mining activities. In collaboration with Navajo Nation leaders and NAU colleagues Nicky Teufel-Shone, Tommy Rock, and Diana Calvo Martinez, Ingram has spearheaded an initiative to sample and analyze well water across the region, creating a detailed map to highlight safe and unsafe water sources.
“We’ve provided them our data on those wells,” Ingram explained. “You can see where your community is on the website map, and you can click on a well and get information about it.” The map is part of a broader effort to empower the Navajo Nation with critical information about their water sources.
Speaking at the American Chemical Society’s symposium on “Community Engagement as a Catalyst for Clean Water Quality Management,” Ingram traced the uranium mining history on Navajo lands from 1944 to 1986. This mining left a legacy of abandoned sites, which continue to leak uranium and other heavy metals into the environment, contaminating water supplies and leading to serious health concerns such as kidney disease and cancer.
“I didn’t really know the extent of the abandonment of those mines,” Ingram admitted. “I think you assume people clean up their messes, and that didn’t happen.” The lack of monitoring means that the responsibility of identifying safe water sources falls heavily on the residents themselves.
Ingram’s research involved taking water samples from difficult-to-reach wells, with the assistance of Diné residents and students. Her findings revealed that uranium levels in several wells exceeded the safe drinking water limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alongside elevated levels of arsenic and manganese.
Educational materials were developed and distributed to inform community members about safe water sources, and these efforts were supported by tribal meetings and culturally sensitive communication strategies. Moreover, the data is made accessible through a website created by the University of New Mexico, which maps tested wells on Navajo lands.
Ingram’s ultimate aim is to provide peer-reviewed data that can bolster the Navajo Nation’s efforts in securing infrastructure improvements. “Having this data is really good for the community,” she noted. “If they request that a new well be dug, it tends to be that the deeper the well, the cleaner it is. If they have a regulated well, they can request a filter system for it. Our data gives them another tool to help make those arguments.”
This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Cancer Society, the Native American Research Centers for Health, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
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