Operation conservation
Idea for saving water in local restaurants is first for N.M.

Cheri Vogel, a water conservation coordinator with the Office of the State Engineer, and Amy Ewing, a hydrologist with the private firm Daniel B. Stephens and Associates, check the flow from a faucet at Genaro's restaurant on Tuesday afternoon. Gallup is one of three cities where local businesses are receiving help from the state in finding ways to cut back water consumption. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — Water conservation can make a lot of sense from a business perspective. Gigi Garcia, who co-owns Genaro’s restaurant on Hill Street with her niece Roxanne Garcia, knows first hand. When she changed out her crushed ice machines, which ran water constantly, she saved $700 to $800 a month.

“A lot of people love crushed ice, but the water doesn’t go back up into the machine. It just goes down the drain,” she said.

Yesterday, Genaro’s was one of 15 restaurants in the city participating in water training audits. The program is an innovative approach that helps restaurants by lowering their utility bills and helps the city by conserving its dwindling water supply. The audits show restaurants what actions they can take to conserve water, and in exchange for their participation, the city retrofits their dishwashers with low-flow pre-rinse spray nozzles.

“The audits will say that if you do X, Y, and Z, then you can save this much on your water bill,” Cheri Vogel said.

Vogel is the water conservation coordinator for the Office of the State Engineer. She calls the audits a “development training program.” Three cities are to receive the audits with Gallup being the first. The other two have not been selected yet. After one year, the OSE will look at water usage rates to gauge the results of the program. The goal is to create a program that other cities can implement.

“It’s a way to develop a program so other cities can do it on their own,” Vogel said.

During the audits, a contractor interviews the owners about the number of customers, age of the building, and number of plates per customer.

“We get a feel for how much volume comes through the place,” Vogal said.

The contractor also looks at dishwashers, ice machines, water coolers, and any laundry facilities that are in use.

From there, an assessment is made as to the best ways for the business to save water.

The first 15 restaurants were selected based on the records of their water use accounts.

“We took the restaurants that would get the biggest bang for their buck,” said Elizabeth Barriga, water conservation coordinator for Gallup Joint utilities.

The program will be extended beyond the 15 restaurants to include most of Gallup’s eating establishments.

“The idea is that Elizabeth (Barriga) can later do the some 50 restaurants on her own,” Vogel explains.

Garcia says she did it in part because she’s the type of person that likes to learn as much as possible about how things are run. But she says she also knows the need for water conservation in the city.

“I know Gallup especially, we have a water situation,” she said.