Staff Writer
Farmington Daily-Times
10 June 2009
   

Officials from all levels of government celebrated last week when President Obama signed an omnibus bill into law to quench the Four Corners' thirst.

The bill appropriates money to bring running water to 80,000 Navajos in between Shiprock and Gallup who do not have it by constructing a pipeline connecting the two cities. $870 billion was set aside thanks to the work of many of our elected officials, including the state government, Navajo President Joe Shirley, Senator Jeff Bingaman and many others.

This is a historic moment, but it's no time to kick back and put up feet.

The omnibus bill authorizing this water settlement only appropriated money for the pipeline's construction. It will take a separate bill through Congress to turn the cash into water.

As passing laws in Congress never is a sure thing, it's wise not to count any chickens before they hatch.

Then, there are the criticisms of state Sen. Ray Begaye, who says the bill only authorizes construction of the pipeline from Shiprock to Gallup, and not for connecting it to people's homes.

This primarily would exclude those who live in extremely remote areas.

The senator has a valid point. Running water doesn't help much if it's running away from your home.

We hope that the government officials who did such hard work in getting the money for the pipeline appropriated will look into the senator's charges with equal zeal. After all, they all have the same employer: the Navajo people.

It's been said time and time again, but it's something that bears repeating: Many of the things we consider basic essentials — running water, electricity, garbage disposal, etc. — are considered luxuries for those living in the remote corners of the Navajo Nation.

The most important lesson we should take away from this is that the quest to turn those luxuries into essentials is far from finished.

Nevertheless, today we are one step closer than we were yesterday.