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East Side water leak halts business, shuts off water

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Episode is one in string of costly infrastructure woes for Gallup

A significant water and sewer line break disrupted business at two hotels and a fast food restaurant and forced the city to shut off water April 3 at 20 residences, officials said.

Dennis Romero, city water and sanitation director, said a leak was called into Metro Dispatch at around 8:30 am. The break occurred at the intersection of Ford Drive and Aztec Avenue and impacted the smooth flow of business at the Best Western Plus, Taco Bell and the El Rancho Hotel.

The three businesses are located less than a mile from each other. The homes in question are located off Ford Drive. The break is connected to a 10-inch cast iron pipe that was installed in 1948, Romero advised. As of Wednesday of this week, work crews were still making repairs to the line on near 24-hour shifts.

“The caller stated that water was seeping up from the asphalt,” Romero said of how the city was informed of the matter. “We responded and quickly got to work on what needed to be done.”

In explaining the cause of the problem, Romero said a 4-to-5 foot section of the line was corroded and simply split. He said the section of the pipe in question was located underneath a 4-foot concrete storm drain.

“We had to remove the concrete structure, place a new 5-foot section of line in and pressurize the line,” Romero said. “One side of the line started leaking through, so we had to re-work the repair.”

Romero stated that city work crews are completing repairs and not an outside firm. “No outside assistance was required,” Romero said. However, Romero added that after locating the leak, it was necessary to call in the Albuquerque-based Adame Construction to remove a portion of the concrete storm drain, as it was determined that it would not be safe to work on the line with the structure in place. Adame is in the process of fixing another repair that occurred at Fifth Street and Hill Avenue several weeks ago. That water line break destroyed at least one Chihuahita home.

Rory Palmore, the manager at Best Western, said the 69-room hotel experienced a water outage for almost 24 hours. He said when such a water break situation happens, it’s a “far-reaching” effect with respect to nearby businesses.

“We sent a lot of our guests to the El Rancho because they have a restaurant and a very good restaurant,” Palmore stated. “But we couldn’t do that because they didn’t have water, either.” Palmore did not say how much revenue the Best Western lost, but said guests could not check in as normal and some reservations could not be honored.

An employee who answered the telephone at Taco Bell said water was off “for a long time” and that the normal routine of doing things was interrupted. The employee asked that her name not be used in the newspaper.

Romero said the area impacted by the water outage goes from Burke Drive to Aztec. He said the water outage went as far south as Hill Avenue.

Romero said the city is using the CodeRed system to let impacted residents know that free water was available at Fire Station No. 1 at the intersection of Second Street and Nizhoni Drive. “We can deliver the water if necessary,” Romero said.

Regarding the repair, Romero said, “Due to the lack of restraints for the line, we had to use full body flanges and mega lugs for the thrust that a pressurized line would create.” Romero did not give cost estimates regarding the repair. He said it could take about a week for things to return to normal at Ford Canyon and Aztec Avenue.

Water service at the impacted areas was restored at about 3 pm April 4, Romero said.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

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