Seeking Water From the Sun is a human story of the drama of science and the reality of life on the Navajo Nation, depicting the precious nature with which water is conserved and respected by Navajo families, many of whom go to great lengths to get water in order to remain on the lands of their choosing.
The Navajo Nation covers 24,000 square miles across three states, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and is home to more than 175,000 Navajos living on the largest reservation-based native nation within the United States. The Navajo agricultural lifestyle, which requires sun and water, is threatened as they face a severe shortage of water for drinking, gardening, and for livestock. Some of the water issues are rooted in the natural geology of their land. Most of the groundwater on the Nation is supplied through a salt cavern, producing water with high levels of salinity and other particulates that make it impossible to drink.
University of Arizona scientists and the Bureau of Reclamation took on the project of designing and building a prototype solar solution to purify water “off the grid” by using the sun. This story follows their trials and tribulations as they design and build a solar powered water distillation prototype, the first step of a plan to purify ground water for easier access to the Navajo people and their livestock.
Seeking Water from the Sun, Sunday at 6 p.m. on PBS-HD 6.
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