SUN Staff Report
The Stop and Eat Drive-In near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Paseo de Oñate turned into the Stop a Leak, as Española city workers repaired a leaky pipe Dec. 18 and 19.
Stop and Eat owner Gerald Martinez said restaurant staff discovered a puddle of water coming from the floor on the morning of Dec. 17. Martinez said he called a plumber, who said the leak was coming from a faulty city pipe.
The plumber’s assertion was confirmed when city workers turned off the Stop and Eat’s meter and the leak persisted, Water Operations Supervisor Adrian Martinez said.
Adrian Martinez said city crews had trouble locating the pipe when they started working on the leak on the afternoon of Dec. 18.
He said current city maps did not document the pipe’s location, which ran directly underneath the restaurant.
City workers located the pipe and were able to fix the problem by isolating the pipe and redirecting Stop and Eat’s water supply to another nearby water line. He said workers would have the line repaired, the soil compacted and the project completed by 5 p.m., Dec. 19.
Meanwhile, Gerald Martinez is none too pleased about the money he’s lost out on since the leak started Tuesday.
“I don’t want to attach a number to it, but it’s a significant figure,” Gerald Martinez said. “We’re talking about hundreds of customers.”
Gerald Martinez said he’s received reassurance from interim city manager Joe Duran, that the pipe would be fixed. Duran called Gerald Martinez and apologized for leak and said the city would do everything it could to repair it.
Despite some of the complications, Duran estimated repairs only cost $2,000 for the overtime pay for city employees that worked into the evening of Dec. 18.
He said the only other immediate cost could come from the city borrowing a line locater from the New Mexico Gas Company, but no rental fees have been discussed as of yet.
Duran said the final cost of the leak could also rise if Gerald Martinez’s insurance company claims the city’s insurance should pay the damage caused by the leak.
Duran said the city is liable for the money Gerald Martinez lost for closing Stop and Eat for several days, but not any water damages to the floors or walls from the leak.
Duran said the Santa Clara tribal government authorized the construction of Stop and Eat and the structure resides on tribal land. Because the original Stop and Eat owners did not go through the city for a permit, Duran said the city government could not prohibit the restaurant from being built over a water line.
Duran anticipates the insurance battle to play out over the coming months.