MEDIA ADVISORY
April 21, 2025
Contact:
Carlos Artiles Fortun
Communications Specialist
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
(801) 910-5547, [email protected]
Ginger Zamora
Public Information Officer
Department of Environmental Quality
(385) 245-4603, [email protected]
Westwater Community Celebrates Running Water for the First Time
Westwater Community tour and celebration to honor collaboration and resilience
SALT LAKE CITY (April 21, 2025) – Lieutenant Governor Deidre M. Henderson will join the Westwater community to celebrate clean running drinking water, a project four years in the making. The celebration will include a community tour in Westwater, Utah, followed by a formal event at the USU College Campus in Blanding with dignitaries and local officials.
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Westwater Community Tour
Residents and leaders will be available for one-on-one interviews to talk about life in Westwater and the impacts of the drinking water project.
- Time: 8:30 – 9:30 AM MDT
- Where: Westwater, Utah — Westwater meeting point location
- Who: Westwater’s Diné leadership, Westwater residents, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, Utah Division of Drinking Water, and the Navajo Department of Water Resources.
- Notes:
- Cell phone service may be spotty for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Cellular One in and around Blanding City.
- To capture drone footage in the Westwater community, contact Ryan T. Barton to obtain a drone permit through the Navajo Department of Transportation.
- For any questions — contact Ryan T. Barton, Hydrologist for Navajo Department of Water Resources and Westwater community liaison (928) 349-1215 [email protected].
Celebration at USU
Dignitaries, stakeholders, and Westwater Community members will gather at Utah State University – Blanding to celebrate the milestone achievement.
- Time: 10 – 11 AM MDT, lunch to follow
- Where: USU College Campus in Blanding
Blanding Arts and Events Center, Patio (west of building)
715 West 200 South, Blanding, UT 84511 - What: Remarks from community leaders and dignitaries and cultural performances
- Who:
- Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, State of Utah
- Dr. Buu Nygren, President of the Navajo Nation
- Congressman Mike Kennedy, U.S. House of Representatives
- Rep. Logan Monson, Utah State House of Representatives
- Elder Michael Dunn, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Martin Ashley, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority
- Thomas Chee, Westwater Community President
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