A private water distribution service may make Dryside deliveries to offset a shortfall at a natural spring in Marvel that has been running at little more than a trickle lately.
The spring, just south of the County roads 100 and 101 intersection, has supplied water to some residents for decades. La Plata County commissioners have recently heard complaints that the spring hit a low point in June and is producing about a half-gallon per minute.
Brandon Waddell, owner of Well on Wheels, typically delivers at 8 or 9 cents per gallon, but has proposed offering a 5.5-cent rate for customers to come haul water away.
At the discounted rate, a customer would pay $19.25 for 350 gallons.
A 6,500-gallon tanker would be stationed at a public location, possibly at the Marvel Grange or Breen Grange, two or three times a week on a reservation system. Waddell plans to gauge public interest in the coming weeks.
“The spring in June and July averages 1,000 gallons a day,” Waddell said. “I have a friend who literally sleeps there all night so he can have first choice. It takes all night to get 150 to 350 gallons, and then it’s dry. People see two trucks there, and they just go home. Ten years ago, it pumped like crazy.”
When wells and springs go dry on the county’s western side, it’s a burden for people who haul their own water. A trip from Marvel to the Durango water dock and back is about 40 miles.
Another baby step toward a solution is expected next month: The La Plata West Water Authority, a subdivision of the Animas La Plata Water Conservancy District is planning a Sept. 14 groundbreaking for a pipeline that will carry water from Lake Nighthorse to Lake Durango. Construction contracts were awarded last week, and completion is expected in August 2017.
About 140 households have signed up for taps, La Plata West Water Authority Board President Roy Horvath said.
The pipeline would also enable the construction of a water dock. Horvath said La Plata West Water Authority is waiting for an answer from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on funding one in Kline.
“People need water, and we have to figure out a way to get it out there,” Horvath said. “When people are spending as much time as they do on getting water, tell me it’s not affecting their quality of life.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
