The Durango water dock at 550 South Camino del Rio is closed because the human-machine interface used to operate it was broken by a vandal Saturday afternoon.
Justin Elkins, Durango utilities manager, said security camera footage shows the suspect stabbing the HMI screen with a knife and ripping the faceplate off the water dock. He estimates the vandal caused about $5,700 in damages. The city filed a police report and is pretty sure of the suspect’s identity, he said.
The city has already ordered replacement parts for the HMI, but anticipates a lead time of one to two weeks. Elkins said the HMI can be repaired the same day the new parts arrive, but he doesn’t expect them to be delivered until the end of July.
The water dock provides water to people who live outside Durango’s utilities services, Elkins said, and having the HMI broken is a large inconvenience to those people who rely on the water dock for their water supplies.
“A lot of people will come through with their 500-gallon tanks in the bed of their trucks that they put up with a forklift, and have driven half an hour into town, pull up to the water dock, see that it’s broken and then turn around and drive back home,” he said.
There are alternative water-filling stations in La Plata County, Elkins said.
Water stations within the La Plata-Archuleta Water District are at County Road 225A and U.S. Highway 160 and on County Road 311 and require an application and a PIN to use. A phone number for those stations is 563-0320.
Another water station is at 579 Spruce Drive in Bayfield and also requires an application and PIN. The phone number for that station is 884-9544.
A quarter-operated water station is in Mancos at 101 East Montezuma St., Elkins said, and a phone number for that station is 533-7725.
cburney@durangoherald.com
