(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man who lives in Aneth fills up his water jugs at the St. Christopher's Episcopal Mission well in Bluff. More than 30% of Navajo Nation households lack running water, and the problem is even worse in San Juan County where nearly half of Navajo Nation residents have to haul water. Families fill jugs at communal wells or buy bottled water from stores — both costly and time-consuming burdens that have become only more difficult during the pandemic.
Zak is the southeast Utah reporter for The Tribune. He has been writing from Bluff, Utah, since 2015 and is the author of Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political On Rivers of the New West. His second book, which will cover the decline of Lake Powell, is forthcoming from Torrey House Press in 2024.