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San Juan County authorizes rental of water-storage containers for firefighting
Summary
The county authorized staff to rent shipping-container water tanks—each cited as holding about 21,000 gallons—at $1,200 per month to preposition firefighting water and practice pump operations; the board approved the rental authorization by voice vote.
San Juan County authorized a rental agreement to test prepositioned shipping-container water tanks as an interim measure to improve local firefighting logistics.
Officials described a proposal to rent containerized water tanks (the presenter cited units storing about 21,000 gallons each) for approximately $1,200 per month each. The containers would be placed at strategic locations such as Eureka, South Mineral and in town to provide immediate access to water without repeatedly pumping from creeks, reduce pump wear and silt intake, and allow crews to practice filling and pumping procedures with generators and portable pumps.
Rusty (full name given in the transcript as Rusty Melture Roden Bridge) presented cost estimates and noted several units were already staged in other counties; officials discussed renting units this summer to evaluate them before considering purchase. The proposal included options to tilt tanks for gravity feed and to move them by truck if needed.
A motion to authorize Rusty to enter into a rental agreement for the containers (at $1,200 per month per unit) was made and seconded; a voice vote followed and the motion carried. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally or name the mover and seconder.
Separately, officials said they had arranged sheltering in Silverton and Durango should evacuations be necessary and noted coordination with La Plata and San Miguel counties for large-animal sheltering and other support.
Final steps include executing rental paperwork, deciding deployment locations, and running practical exercises with pumps and generators to assess operational value before any purchase decision.
