Gallup, New Mexico, residents and businesses are dealing with water outages caused by recent weather events and non-operational wells, with some going days without running water.

Challenges for Residents and Businesses

In Gallup’s Trademark Square, at least two businesses were without water for two or more days last week due to recent shortages. Kaitlin Che, an employee at Bishop Optical, said, “We didn’t have water for two days. We’ve been really busy, especially with kids and elders who mostly are our main target for people that need glasses.” The lack of running water also created challenges for basic needs. “We had to go travel, you know, to the east side of town just to use the restroom or anything like that,” Che said.

Gallup City Administrator Frank Chiapetti acknowledged the difficulties residents faced during the outages. “Unfortunately, we had some citizens going two, three days without water,” he said. “It was very difficult.” The city expressed its sympathies to the hundreds of residents affected by the outages, which followed last month’s major weather events.

Causes and Solutions

One of the city’s water wells, struck by lightning a couple of months ago, is among eight wells currently out of operation. Gallup typically relies on 16 wells to serve the community and is thus operating at 50 percent of its functional capacity. “Some of those wells, we’re finding out, have been out two, three years,” Chiapetti said. “We’ve got a good plan to get several up and running.” Part of that plan includes increased communication with residents and collaboration across departments to address the water crisis.

The city noted that non-operative wells may take up to a year to supply water. Gallup residents affected by water outages are encouraged to call utility dispatch at (505) 863-1200 or (833) 863-1212 after business hours.

Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.