Cool, clear water
City will move 3rd Street water spigot

John Lee Jr. makes the drive from Wide Ruins, Ariz. once a month to get water he says is better than what's available there. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — They come from all parts of the county and nearby reservations, usually once or twice a week, using everything from big trucks to gallon jugs.

In the end, they all wind up on Third Street behind Bubany Lumber where the city, for more than four decades, has supplied a spigot so that families can buy the water they need for refreshment, food preparation and bathing.

But there’s change in the wind – sometime next year, if everything goes as planned, the Third Street Spigot will be no more.

Thursday County spokesman Doug Decker said the city has asked to be allowed to use some county land on Hassler Valley Road across from the Community Pantry to build a new, expanded version of the Third Street spigot.

The request is scheduled to come before the McKinley County Commission at its Tuesday meeting.

Gallup City Manager Gerry Herrera said the change is being done to make the city service more convenient for the thousands of families that use it weekly.

Families that have come to haul their water have had to put up with a lot of inconveniences in recent years, especially on Friday and Saturday when the lines of cars and trucks is so crowded into the space along Third Street that it’s almost impossible to turn around. And once one gets to the spigot, there’s no guarantee of actually getting any water, since the machinery that provides the water is unreliable and breaks down frequently.

The city does not give the water away for free. Instead, families put quarters into the slot to get as much water as they need. The city is currently charging users $9.22 per thousand gallons. As a comparison, the average customer in the city system pays about $5.89 per 1,000 gallons.

Lance Allgood, head of the city’s utility department, said the machinery is so old that the amount of water it provides for the quarter varies customer by customer.

Although the service is available 24/7, it does break down. A phone number is provided at the site for people to call. Someone is on call every day and night and it usually takes about half an hour to get the service back up and running. This happens frequently on Sundays because the box holding the quarters gets so full, it can’t accept any more.

The city hopes to correct these problems when it sets up the new facility.

First off, there will be new machinery that the city plans on purchasing. And the equipment will not only accept quarters but the city is planning to implement a phone card type system that will allow customers to go to the city clerk’s office and pay in advance. When they do, they will get a credit card that they will be able to use for that amount at the spigot.

He said there will be so much room that big trucks will have no problem turning around. There will also be metal rings available on the poles that will allow families to lock up their water haulers so they won’t have to haul them around town all day as they shop.

The new operation is expected to cost less than $100,000 for equipment and paving to the lot the city is requesting from the county, Allgood said, adding that the city is seeking the funds from the state’s water trust fund.