Number 2
Spring Equinox 1999
Indian Sustainable Energy News is a publication of the Native American Renewable Energy Education Project
You can download a PDF file of the print version of this publication.
Solar Water Pumping
Clay Bravo of the Hualapai Tribe
The Zuni Tribe in western New Mexico is turning to the sun to help meet their water needs. The Tribe is developing a program to replace broken water-pumping windmills with less expensive solar water pumps-and at the same time is working to address difficult questions of who should pay for, own, and maintain remote water pumping equipment.
Water...can't live without it
"For us, sheep herding and dryland farming is a way of life," explains Wilbur Haskie, supervisory director of the Range Group of the Zuni Conservation Project, (ZCP) and one of the founders of the Zuni Sustainable Energy Project (ZSEP). Haskie continues, "We grow beans, corn, melons, and squash - and the sheep that we raise provides meat, wool, and are important in our religious traditions. But we need water... Water is critical for the Zuni."
With historic reductions in the quality and quantity of the Zuni land base, availability
of water has become crucial for the viability of traditional
farming and ranching. Starting in the 1930s, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) installed 64 water pumping windmills to serve remote
ranchers and farmers on Zuni.
In the late 1970s, maintenance and repair of these windmills became too expensive for the BIA, and responsibility and ownership of the windmills was turned over to the Tribe. The Tribe also lacks funds for windmill repair, and currently only 21of the original 64 are operational. Because water pumping windmills are no longer mass-produced in the numbers common in the early part of this century, fixing or replacing windmills can be very expensive.
"We've catalogued the condition of all the windmills on Zuni", says Haskie, pointing to photos of windmills pinned to a topographical map that covers one wall of his office, "and we've worked with ranchers and farmers to fix all the windmills that require less than $500 in new parts. But for the rest, we think solar [water pumping] is the way to go."
With the breakdown of windmills, many Zuni ranchers and farmers currently haul water for agriculture and livestock using their pickup trucks. It is not uncommon for a Zuni rancher to make several trips a week, driving 30 miles one-way over rough four-wheel-drive roads, pulling a water tank weighing two tons. Fuel for these trucks costs a typical Zuni farmer or rancher $1,000 per year. In this type of service, trucks require frequent repairs, especially brakes, clutches, and tires.
Zuni Solar Water Pumping
A visit in 1995 to a renewable energy symposium hosted by Hopi Native Sun, a Hopi/Navajo solar electric tribal enterprise on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, got Haskie and other ZCP staff, Darren Sanchez and Andy Laahty, excited about applications of renewable energy for the Zuni reservation. Inspired by the visit, the Zunis organized the first Zuni Sun Day in the summer of 1996. The demonstration included a workshop led by solar water pumping expert Windy Dankoff. The ZCP staff were impressed with the solar water pumping demonstration and purchased a submersible solar pump, controller, and two 50-watt solar panels. They adapted a surplus Geographic Information System (GIS) digitizing stand to make a sturdy rack for the solar panels that could be lifted in and out of the project's pickup trucks.
The solar pumping system cost $1,300 and provides 1.5 gallons per minute from a depth of 230
feet. On a sunny day this amounts to 900 gallons per day, enough
water for approximately 200 sheep or 35 cattle. The ZCP found
other uses of solar energy as well: Andy Lhaaty and the Zuni
Sustainable Agriculture Project built a solar electric system
to power equipment in a greeenhouse, and the hydrology department
of the ZCP used solar power for a reservation-wide flood warning
system.
In the course of their duties as Zuni Conservation Project range technicians, Haskie and Sanchez have been bringing the solar water pumping system with them to dozens of remote sheep camps, stock tanks, and spring developments to demonstrate the technology to rural ranchers and farmers. As a result of their outreach efforts, two Zuni farmers have installed solar pumps and more have expressed interest.
Working with the Native American Renewable Energy Education Project, in 1997 Haskie and Sanchez formalized their renewable energy promotion work to form the Zuni Sustainable Energy Project (ZSEP). ZSEP has demonstrated a variety of solar energy technologies at community events, schools, and to Zuni leaders as well as farmers and ranchers. In addition to solar water pumps, the project designed a number of solar electric systems to power lights and small household appliances in remote sheep herding camps.
With a grant from the Greenville Foundation, ZSEP purchased a demonstration solar pumping system using a surface pump-a less expensive option than submersible pumps for pumping applications such as spring developments where the water level is close to the surface. Haskie, Sanchez, and others also participated in several training sessions that increased their capability to design, install and maintain solar water pumping systems.
The Next Steps
At $1,000 to $2,000 each, the Tribe doesn't have the money to install solar water pumps to replace the 43 broken windmills. Nor does it want to repeat an historic pattern of assuming responsibility for ownership and maintenance of solar water pumps. The Tribe feels that the systems should be the responsibility of those who benefit from them. However, ZSEP works in conjunction with NAREEP and Hopi Native Sun to lower barriers to Zunis purchasing these systems. Hopi Native Sun is a Native-American-run renewable energy company in Kykotsmovi, Arizona.With training from NAREEP and Hopi Native Sun, ZSEP provides engineering services to design and install the systems, and free skilled labor for maintenance. Hopi Native Sun and other vendors will provide access to below-retail cost renewable energy equipment. And Hopi Native Sun and the Zuni Tribe will help provide the infrastructure for financing and Tribal Employee payroll deductions to facilitate payments for the systems.
Because this arrangement will require that tribal members pay for these systems - when historically the BIA or the Tribe provided the water pumping wind mills - adoption of solar water pumping is expected to be slower than it would be if the systems were installed under a large tribal purchase. But this approach economizes on the Tribe's limited economic resources, and is expected to lead to the program being much more sustainable since the water pumping systems will be the responsibility of those who benefit most from them. Because solar water pumping is less expensive than hauling water in trucks, Zuni ranchers and farmers should benefit most of all in reduced expenses for maintaining their herds and irrigating remote gardens.
"We're getting the word out there, and they're slowly catching on," says Andy Lhaaty, "You come back in a couple years, and I'll bet you'll see a lot of us Zunis using these solar systems. They save money-whether it's money for hauling water, or money spent on batteries and white gas for lighting."
ZSEP is betting that their education efforts will pay off and more Zunis will turn to the sun to improve the viability of traditional ranching and sheep herding.
[If you're in Zuniland, drop by the Zuni Conservation Project offices in the fair grounds and ask for Wilbur or Darren. If they haven't left for the field they'll show you some of the solar equipment they're working with.]
-Chris Greacen
