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John Hollenhorst ReportingUtah's lingering drought , likely the worst since the Pioneers arrived, has created many hardships. Now it's even put the future of a Southeastern Utah school in jeopardy.
In the La Sal Elementary School the last few months “Do Not Drink" signs have been at every faucet and fountain. Instead, drinking water is delivered by the Culligan Man.
The explanation is way up above town in the La Sal Mountains. Rancher Hardy Redd owns Coyote Spring which supplies the school.
Hardy Redd: “It's been a wonderful spring for over a hundred years."
But not anymore. Normally it produces hundreds of gallons a minute. Now it's to a trickle.
Hardy Redd: "Like Mark Twain, everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Nobody can do anything about it."
Redd did arrange an alternative for the school by piping water from a nearby well. It's used for flushing and washing, but it's not a reliable supply and it can't be used for drinking. Redd's well isn't engineered to government standards.
Clayton Holt, San Juan School District: "There are certain guidelines that have to be met that were not met when that well was developed initially."
The drought has taken a toll outside the school too, on a community ball field.
Steve Deeter, La Sal Resident: "Well we have no water to irrigate it anymore. You can see its dry, weeds all around, we have trees that have died over here."
They're even giving up on the school's front yard. They've removed it and now they're getting into xeriscaping. School officials hope to get lucky by drilling a new well and hitting water. But so far they don't have the $70,000 they need.
Clayton Holt: "It is somewhat of a worry at this point. But I think we're confident that we'll come up with the resources one way or another to meet the need."
State regulators have given the school until November to find a solution not involving bottled water. Parents worry the school will have to close. The nearest school in the district with reliable water is a 40 mile bus ride away in Monticello.
La Sal Elementary has 23 students ranging from pre-school to 4th grade. They're currently on summer vacation.
