Credit KUYI Hopi Radio/Facebook A Tribal spokesperson for Hopi’s First Mesa Consolidated Villages says monsoon activity led to a rise in water levels at the Polacca Wash this week, with particularly high water Thursday night. Louella Furcap says rainfall in Pinon and Low Mountain led to high runoff. Two roads on Hopi remained closed last night, according to KUYI Hopi Radio, including part of Route 60. The Hopi Emergency Relief Fund is seeking volunteers to fill more sandbags at the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority. Information is at 928-299-1992.
According to tribal law enforcement, one man died earlier this week after a vehicle became submerged in floodwaters near route 67-20. The National weather service predicts about a 30% chance of rain today in Pinon and Polacca.
• Apr 28, 2021
Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project Underway
A spokesperson for the First Mesa Consolidated Villages says the Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project is now underway. The project seeks to produce safe drinking water on Hopi by constructing new pipelines on the reservation. FMCV administrator Ivan Sidney announced this week that water pipes were delivered near West Polacca, and that construction for the new water lines will take a year or less. Sidney says funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs will extend the water supply to Keams Canyon. The tribe’s water supply has been cited for high levels of arsenic; the chemical element is naturally occurring but can cause diseases including cancer. The project will largely be funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.