As wells go dry in the summer heat, tensions rise at the city water dock, where 16 to 18 gallons of drinkable water can be purchased for 25 cents.

In the drought, the water dock has been dispensing 37,000 gallons a week, but Durango officials often feel put upon – literally left to pick up after other people’s horse manure, after someone used the water dispenser to clean out a horse trailer.

While the service is used almost entirely by non-city residents who don’t have access to reliable water, the county does not subsidize the service, either.

This is in a summer when the daily demand for water in Durango has averaged 9.5 million, causing the city to divert more water from the Animas River because the city’s main source, the Florida River, only supplies about 5.2 million gallons a day.

Ultimately, Durango’s generosity to its neighbors is not sustainable, City Manager Ron LeBlanc said.

In planning for the future, “we have enough water supply to serve about 40,000 people,” he said. “This will allow us to build out (to new developments in) Three Springs, Twin Buttes, Ewing Mesa and La Posta Road. It also provides enough water to support redevelopment opportunities in the downtown and along North Main. However, the city cannot be expected to supply those without adequate water forever into the future.”

City increases its rate

To conserve water, the city recently raised its rate at the water dock by decreasing the amount of water dispensed to just under 20 gallons a quarter. Formerly, the dock dispensed about 23 to 25 gallons a quarter.

The rates are equivalent to what city residents pay for their water. Rural residents also can shop around because there are water docks in Ignacio and Bayfield, too.

Steve Salka, utility director, said patrons have complained anyway.

“Some think it should be free because they don’t have any water,” Salka said. “Some think the price is too high. I bought distilled water for 87 cents a gallon. They’re paying a quarter for 16 gallons. I think we’re doing pretty good.”

When the rate was cheaper, someone used the water to clean out their horse trailer, even though a commercial car wash is a few feet away from the water dock on the Frontage Road for U.S. Highway 160 near the Durango Mall.

“We have had to go disinfect it because that’s people’s drinking water. We have to make sure it’s safe for them,” Salka said. “When I can afford the video surveillance, I am going to catch these people. They’re ruining it for others.”

County residents in need

George Sleeger of Marvel knows how rural people depend on Durango’s water. Hauling water home is a fact of life for many in rural La Plata County.

In the summer drought, “there’s a lot of people who don’t have any water in their wells at all. They have to haul all their domestic water,” Sleeger said.

“Anybody who moves to this part of the country knows that water is just not running anywhere,” Sleeger said.

Sleeger paid about $5 to fill up a 300-gallon tank from Durango’s water dock. He brought a hose and a plastic container of quarters to feed the machine.

Sleeger said he was going to take the water back to Marvel to irrigate his shrubbery.

Mo Provosty, who lives just outside of town on Florida Road, is a grateful water dock patron who believes the city is providing a great service.

“I live in a water critical area. My well goes dry in the summertime,” said Provosty, an investment banker who splits his year between La Plata County and New Orleans.

He appreciates there’s “not a lot of available water here.”

Durango finances dock alone

Because the costs of the water dock are not separated out or individually tracked, city officials can’t answer whether the water dock pays for itself.

“There is a commodity cost for the water, service and maintenance cost for the water dock, and a variety of staff calls that we do not track,” LeBlanc said. “It takes two people to collect the coins and bring them to the bank for deposit. There is no easy way for me to answer your question.”

The city also spent $151,000 to develop and build the water dock about four years ago when it was relocated from Florida Road.

Salka wishes he could recover that cost to pay for new valves and other replacement parts needed for the city’s aging water system.

Because the city has been pumping water every day from the Animas River to supplement its reservoir, Salka worries that city is going to face a staggering electric bill at the end of the summer. In comparison to the summer of 2012, the city only pumped water from the Animas River an average of 11 days a month.

So city officials would like the county to help with its water bills.

County yet to get cost-sharing plan

While not wanting to get into a fight, LeBlanc recalled when the dock was built four years ago “Former Board of County Commission chairman Wally White and the former county manager both indicated to me that the county would reimburse us for all, or a part, of the cost. The county does not contribute to any of the operating costs for the water dock,” LeBlanc said in an email. “There are people who live in the unincorporated areas of the county without any water supply. In some cases, their wells have run dry. In other cases, their dwelling were approved without a water supply.”

White and former County Manager Shawn Nau recall discussions of the county and city jointly subsidizing the water dock, but say the city never followed up with a formal proposal. Joe Kerby, the current county manager, said the city has not approached the county with a formal proposal, either.

Nau, who is currently the city manager of Eagar, Ariz., said he is now in the business of providing water to rural residents.

“So in one sense, I’m very sympathetic with Durango’s plight. However, we do not charge our county government anything. We simply have priced the water at multiples of our residential rate. This has already recovered our investment in the dock and is currently providing a small profit for our city taxpayers,” Nau said in an email.

As for new development in La Plata County, Damian Peduto, the county’s current planning director, said “new projects that require a development permit must prove an adequate water supply through our project approval process. There are limited and few instances where water hauling may be permitted for new projects.”

White said he took a hard line against development proposals during his time on the commission.

“During my eight years in office, I do not believe that any dwelling without a water supply was approved,” White said. “Part of what is required for approval is water. I do believe one three-lot subdivision was approved that only had a cistern for a water supply. I voted against this particular project and have argued many times that this was in contradiction to state requirements.”

jhaug@durangoherald.com