Phoenix food bank gears up to send drinking water to Navajo Nation

PHOENIX — Help is on the way to the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, which is dealing with a water crisis tied to contaminated water at the Gold King Mine in southern Colorado.

The contamination of the Animas and San Juan rivers has forced a shutdown of some of the wells in the Navajo nation in Arizona and Utah, creating an immediate need for bottled water.

Jerry Brown with St Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix said the nonprofit was packing five 18-wheelers with cases of water to make the mercy mission up north.

“The first two tractor-trailers will go to Fort Defiance and Window Rock. All told, we’ll be shipping 200,000 to 250,000 bottles of water,” Brown said.

Tribal members were relying on backup supplies and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority was hauling water to replenish the system, which was the site of a toxic wastewater spill.

Brown said this relief effort comes on the heels of St. Mary’s already having sent water to the victims and first responders of the Willow Fire in northwestern Arizona earlier this week.

These efforts have combined to tax the food bank’s stored supply.

“We were doing pretty good on water … the warehouse is looking pretty bare but this is something we needed to do,” Brown said.

Donations for the food bank can be dropped off at any of the more than 50 Goodwill stores across Arizona.

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