2023
Annual
Report
(aka taps & toilets for every person in the U.S.)
*WASH is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". Universal, affordable and sustainable access to WASH is a key public health and equity issue and is the focus of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.
(aka research on the problem and the solution)
(aka spread the word about the U.S. water crisis)
(aka enlist partners to make the work happen faster and more effectively)
Our Navajo Water Project team brought clean water to more than 350 households in 2023. We expanded into 10 new communities across the Navajo Nation and installed more than 170 off-grid Home Water Systems – shattering our previous record of 99 systems in a single year. These solar-powered tanks, connected to household plumbing and serviced by our water truck fleet, are ending decades of water hauling and transforming Navajo lives.
As our team grows (in number and in skill!) we’ve expanded our services beyond off-grid systems to include municipal connections, septic cleanings, and bathroom upgrades. Clean running water has a ripple effect… more time for education, better health, and elders living with dignity at home on their ancestral land.Watch the 2023 project update
2023 saw two major firsts on the Navajo Nation: first, we graduated the inaugural class of plumbers and pipefitters from our new training program at Navajo Technical University; then we introduced advanced septic systems to the region, paving the way for more families to have working toilets, despite challenging soil conditions.
These milestones in education and technology, made possible by collaborating with our friends at the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation, are significant steps toward improving water access and sanitation across the Nation, setting the stage for a more water-secure future.
Teamwork makes the dream work, and this year our partnerships with key Navajo Nation agencies and the Indian Health Service expanded our reach significantly, including our participation in the Potable Water Delivery Program. This project allows us to share knowledge across agencies, creating better plans for long-term water access across the Navajo Nation. Folks from the Navajo Water Project also worked closely with colleagues in Appalachia to innovate off-grid solutions for families there.
Teams across DigDeep visit each other regularly to share knowledge, develop new solutions, build community, and serve families with water access challenges.
TEAM
Our team grew in 2023, as we continued to promote from within and invest in our skills. The team gained 5 new water truck drivers with commercial licenses and trained several new field technicians in heavy equipment operation. This enabled the team to complete over 3,100 water deliveries (that’s millions of gallons of water), showcasing our growing capacity to serve remote Navajo communities.
The Appalachia Water Project team kept busy in 2023, connecting more than 70 households to clean, piped water. Our most heartwarming win? In Herndon, WV we brought piped water to a mountain community that had never been hooked up to a municipal water supply before.
And we didn’t stop there. The team also worked on numerous “one-off” piped water connections, serving isolated families across McDowell and Wyoming Counties. These remote folks are often overlooked, but not by us–we’re making sure they get clean water too. Watch the 2023 project update
We hit a big milestone in June, teaming up with McDowell County Public Service District to open the Coalwood sewage treatment plant.
More than 90 families now have proper wastewater treatment for the first time ever. Before that, folks were flushing straight into their yards or nearby streams (you read that right). Eliminating “straight piping” has had a major positive impact on the community’s health and quality of life.
In a truly ‘groundbreaking’ collaboration, teams from Appalachia and Navajo worked together to design and install our first Home RainWater System… a cousin of our off-grid Home Water Systems from Navajo, built to collect and purify abundant rainwater.
We’re keeping a close eye on these systems over the next few seasons. If our pilot performs well, we could have a new way to serve remote households that traditional piped water or well systems can’t reach.
The Appalachia crew also tackled their first 5 septic system installations in 2023. It was a steep learning curve, and our biggest move yet into off-grid wastewater services for the region. These 5 homes are just the beginning; we’re laying the groundwork to help families across Appalachia get safe, working toilets even if they live on top of a mountain or deep in a hollow.
The Colonias Water Project team completed a whopping 130 in-person household surveys for the 5 colonias we’re expanding into: Hillcrest, Tierra de Oro, Laura E. Mundy, Serene Acres, and Turf Estates. These surveys help us understand the scope of the challenge and set a baseline for impact. But they aren’t just paperwork… they’re our way of saying hello and providing every community member a voice in their project from the very start.
We also hosted regular community meetings in Hillcrest and in Cochran (our first successful project in the region!). These early moments in the planning stages of a project take time, but they’re critical to long-term success. We need them to build relationships and make sure our solutions give communities what they actually want and need. Watch the 2023 project update.
HOPE
The Colonias team had a standout moment in 2023 with our first-ever “Table of Hope” event on October 20th at El Paso’s TecH2O center. Picture this: local water experts, community leaders, and partners all in one room, brainstorming new ways to tackle old water access challenges across the region.
Our DigDeep Project Directors from Texas, West Virginia and the Navajo Nation took the stage together, spreading hope and sparking new collaboration.
Partnerships are at the heart of our work in El Paso. In 2023 we deepened our work with local community development organization A.Y.U.D.A., the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), El Paso County, and Horizon Municipal Utility District. We also participated in the 2023 Public Drinking Water Conference, hosted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Our partnership with A.Y.U.D.A. was critical to our early success in Cochran colonia. A.Y.U.D.A. staff continue to help families in Cochran access state housing grants now that they have the water lines to qualify.
In 2023 we grew our partnership with A.Y.U.D.A. to support 100 new families with access to working toilets, either by cleaning their existing septic systems or installing new ones. The Colonias Water Project is still the youngest in the DigDeep family, and this project marks our first big step into wastewater services… the next natural step in our work to ensure every family has access to clean, running water and a working toilet at home.
In 2023, we got even more serious about measuring our impact on the ground. We built out an entire(!) dedicated(!) impact measurement team and transitioned the organization to mWater, a secure data platform developed specifically for WASH projects like ours.
Because our data is now all in one place, our field teams can seamlessly conduct surveys, review historical data, prepare donor and regulator reports, and make better, faster decisions in the field. More than 40 staff members have been trained on mWater and over 4500 paper surveys have been uploaded to the system.
In 2023, we launched the Water Access Innovation Cohort (WAIC), an 8-month initiative that brought together five U.S. WASH organizations developing solutions to get clean, running water to difficult-to-reach families. Cohort members met both virtually and through a site-exchange program, helping each other understand local challenges, promising new solutions, and the policy changes necessary to enhance their effectiveness and reach. The WAIC is a sister program to our Decentralized Wastewater Innovation Cohort which graduated its first class in 2022.
The WAIC culminated in a powerful roundtable meeting with federal officials in Washington D.C., where members presented policy recommendations to the EPA and USDA. Their final report outlined common-sense steps the US government can take to help scale water access solutions that work.
Our learning cohorts connect impacted communities who often feel alone in this fight and bring them into closer contact with key decision-makers. They’ve had a major impact on national policy, including new or improved federal funding programs for rural water and wastewater. Watch the WAIC video.
SOLUTIONS
Communities often know what they need better than anyone else, and the only successful WASH projects are community-led. That’s why DigDeep continues to invest in small to medium-scale local water and sanitation projects in key regions across the country.
In 2023, our Water is Life Fund supported 13 locally-led projects that delivered clean water and sanitation services. Our Water Inspiration Fund made larger, strategic investments in 2 projects poised to deliver transformational change to their respective communities. We continue to learn from and enhance these grantmaking programs, empowering visionary community members to expand WASH services for their neighbors.
DigDeep hit a major milestone in 2023 with the launch of the Vessel™ Collective. Vessel is a game-changing step toward a stronger US WASH sector. We brought together more than a dozen nonprofits, funders, academics, government agencies, and community champions within an organized coalition that meets regularly.
The goal? To share knowledge, sync strategies, and supercharge our collective voice. With Vessel™ we’re building a backbone organization that can close the water access gap in our lifetimes.
In 2023 we built deeper relationships across the broader water sector, joining coalitions led by the US Water Alliance, PolicyLink, and others. A standout moment came during the 2023 UN Water Conference–the first of its kind in 46 years. DigDeep participated in the conference and was highlighted on the official website, calling global attention to the water access issues right here in the US.
Many people still believe water poverty is only a problem in low and middle income countries. We’re making sure impacted communities here in the U.S. have a voice in the conversation.
Thanks to advocacy efforts by DigDeep, our partners, and impacted communities, the US Senate held 3 hearings on domestic water access in 2023. We provided statements for the record and advised several Senate offices throughout the process. Senator Lujan (D-NM) even submitted one of DigDeep’s statements on the Senate floor.
In 2023, four U.S. Senators submitted letters calling on the federal government for greater support in closing the water access gap. These letters, submitted during Senate hearings, are a significant and atypical move, underscoring the growing recognition of this critical issue at the federal level.
We kicked off 2023 by presenting our report, ‘Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis’ to the White House Council on Native American Affairs. Those meetings culminated in a major commitment from the federal government to support the 2+ million Americans lacking a tap and a toilet at home.
As 2023 drew to a close, we renewed our role as a key advisor to EPA’s Office of Wastewater through the Decentralized Wastewater Partnership. This ensures our continued input on crucial wastewater policy for years to come.
The public launch of the Colonias Water Project created powerful new storytelling opportunities for DigDeep. Cochran’s unique status as a ‘donut hole’ community (surrounded by communities with running water) captured the imagination of several award-winning journalists, who wanted to chronicle the journey to running water from start to finish.
This triumphant story–told through primetime segments on both CBS and ABC Nightline News–raised incredible awareness about water access issues in America and showcased the transformative impact of our work to millions of new allies.
Global supermodel Bella Hadid continued to support in 2023, kicking off a year-long fundraising and awareness effort on Instagram. Bella is just one of our many allies across music, entertainment, and social media who play a crucial role in spreading awareness about the 2M+ people facing water access challenges nationwide. Do you have an audience you want to inspire?
Email impact@digdeep.org to get involved.
Everyone loves a podcast, so here are 3 of our favorites from 2023 featuring our work:
Angela Glover Blackwell’s Radical Imagination. ‘Vigilant for Clean Water’ (featuring Cindy Howe form the Navajo Water Project)
Positive Equation. ‘Solving the US Water Problem with Grassroots Marketing’ (featuring CEO and founder George McGraw)
As She Rises. ‘The Source’ (featuring Navajo Water Project Senior Advisor Emma Robbins)
For holiday 2023, we launched The Ripple Effect campaign to highlight everything that happens after *that magic moment* when someone turns on a tap or flushes the toilet for the very first time.
Access to water isn’t just about the tap itself. For the 2 million people living in the US without a working tap or toilet, access to water provides new time to study, work and play. It transforms health, both mental and physical. It changes life as we know it. Watch the full video here.
DigDeep successfully piloted a new program giving all 70+ staff (from all departments! at all levels of the organization!) the opportunity to visit, learn, and connect with each other across the country in person. In 2023, the first 31 staff members made 8 visits to 5 different water project sites on the Navajo Nation, West Virginia, and the Texas colonias.
One of these ‘small site visits’ sparked the idea for the new Home RainWater System being piloted by Navajo and Appalachia teams in West Virginia.
We believe thriving employees empower thriving communities, and we make that real through best-in-class compensation, benefits, and professional development opportunities. That’s probably why we’ve earned the right to say we’re a ‘Great Place to Work®’ for the third year in a row!
We’ve grown rapidly, so our Operations team conducted their annual “Ops Roadshow” – visiting teams across the country (in-person!) to provide training for tools and platforms, help staff enroll in company benefits, and ensure everyone has the resources they need to do their best work.
In 2023, we rolled out some new perks to show our appreciation. A few highlights? An annual organization-wide week off to give everyone the chance to rest and recharge, reflecting on the commitment and passion that drive our success. We also launched an Employee Longevity Program to honor and reward our long-term team members, celebrating their years of service and boosting morale across the organization.
That’s not all. We expanded wellbeing offerings to encourage employees to explore new wellness practices or enhance existing ones, ensuring our team has the resources and support needed to tackle any challenge.
We understand the issue we’re working to solve, because for many of us… it’s personal.
100% of DigDeep’s project leadership comes from the communities we serve, as do 42% of our team. 37% of us have lived without running water or a flush toilet at home ourselves.
The Anthem Awards, which honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people and organizations worldwide recognized DigDeep with two awards: George McGraw won Gold in the Human & Civil Rights category: Nonprofit Leader of the Year and “Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis” won Silver in the Human & Civil Rights category: Research Projects or Publications.
The International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation Award was presented to DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project Director, Cindy Howe, for her role in raising awareness of the lack of water and sanitation access for indigenous communities and growing a native-led staff to implement solutions that serve households across the Navajo Nation with working taps and toilets.
Water Prize
The US Water Prize for “Outstanding Nonprofit Organization”, one of the most prestigious awards within the US WASH sector, was awarded to DigDeep’s Colonias Water Project for bringing clean, running water to the Cochran colonia in El Paso, Texas. Fun Fact: we’re the first organization in history to win the award twice. The Navajo Water Project took home the Prize in 2018!
DigDeep spent a total of $16,776,139 in 2023, including operations, programmatic expenses, and fixed assets (e.g. vehicles and building/warehouse improvements). We focused on capacity-building across our teams, taking in-house many functions we used to contract out. We also expanded our work into several new functional and geographic areas.
9%
$1,326,033
6.9%
$1,017,683
84.1%
$12,386,913
We saw major growth across all of our water projects this year, serving more communities than ever before.
Delta
Anonymous
BlueTriton Brands
Caterpillar Foundation
Spring
Liquid I.V.
Lake
Ferguson Cares
Four Peaks Rotary Foundation
George & Cindy Rusu Family Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
S.L. Gimbel Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation
ZYN Cares
RIVER
Anonymous
Aqualateral
Boeing Global Engagement
Bonneville Environmental Foundation
CDC Foundation
El Paso-American Housing Foundation, Inc
Gerald L Lennard Foundation, Inc.
Janji
Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust
The Burkehaven Family Foundation
The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation
The Stirling Foundation
Weissman Family Charitable Foundation
Creek
Anonymous
Atlas Copco North America LLC
Endeavor Impact
Chris Long Foundation
Kohler Co.
Lloyd V. Guild Charitable Foundation
Lori and Robert N Goodman Family Foundation
OneGen Fund at the Tides Center
Paper for Water
The Noon Whistle Fund
William I. Smith Family Foundation
We won’t stop until every American has the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us.
We’ve done it again! You can give with confidence knowing DigDeep maintained a perfect Encompass score from Charity Navigator and a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar.
100% of your donation will go to programs that close the water access gap for US families.