Navajo, Battling Covid, Say Coal Mines Sapped Drinking Water

To follow hand-washing guidelines recommended by health professionals, Navajo Nation member Percy Deal drives his pickup truck once a week about 17 miles to wait in line for as long as an hour at a communal well.

There, he fills up two 55-gallon drums at the cost of 1 cent a gallon.

“I use the same water at least five or six times before I throw it out,” Deal said. “It’s very dirty, but otherwise, I would run out of water in less than a week. And I can’t afford that.”

Lack of running water has long plagued the Navajo ...