The International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation’s next Community Plumbing Challenge will take place in the Navajo Mountain region on the Arizona-Utah border June 3-7.

The new project, in collaboration with DigDeep, will bring together a unique team of volunteer tradespeople from all over the United States to deliver running water and safe wastewater disposal for a series of family homes situated in the remote and isolated Piute Mesa area of Navajo Mountain.

“Since our last Navajo Nation project — hosted in Baca-Prewitt, New Mexico, last October — DigDeep has raised enough money to bore a new well in Navajo Mountain, purchase a new water truck, establish a new water delivery service, and install an ongoing series of home water systems for households across the region,” IWSH Managing Director Dain Hansen said. “This upcoming CPC project will help launch DigDeep in providing these new services in Navajo Mountain, and further establish our relationship with the local community through the practical, hands-on support and expertise that our trades team volunteers will be providing.”

It is not too late to get involved. Water sector companies and organizations that would like to support this initiative or participate in the upcoming event are invited to get in contact at info@iwsh.org.

This CPC event will help further development of a new partnership between IAPMO and the Navajo Technical University. Shortly before October’s project, a memorandum of understanding was signed between both parties to offer community college-level plumbing courses. The new training courses, slated to commence at NTU in September 2019, will focus on teaching students to build and maintain plumbing and sanitation facilities on the reservation and provide opportunities toward eventually becoming a licensed plumber.

“Our partnership with NTU is another exciting development running parallel to this CPC,” Hansen added. “The project in June will provide us with a unique opportunity; firstly, for identifying on-site work opportunities for NTU students, and secondly, for the creation of teaching and training materials tailored to the community. We believe both aspects will go on to become integral parts of the future plumbing training courses being run here on the Navajo reservation — with our IWSH-DigDeep community plumbing partnership as the enabling platform. We are excited to continue exploring these possibilities together during the upcoming project in Navajo Mountain.”