"Instead of going straight to the faucet, many Navajos in northeastern Arizona have to drive 40 miles to haul water from a well back to their homes.

And it’s not by choice, said John Leeper, director of the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources. Almost a third of the Nation’s 200,000 inhabitants do not have direct access to clean water.

A recent study by the University of Arizona’s Institute of the Environment showed that well water taken from rural parts of the reservation has unsafe concentrations of uranium and arsenic — two elements known to increase the likelihood of developing cancer. In addition, the water has a high saline content, which can lead to upset stomachs and dehydration."

Will Ferguson reports for the Green Valley News March 2, 2011. [2]