For those of you commuting in the Alaska Interior, there are three free water stations....
1) - -160 miles south of Fairbanks- Around mile 204 Richardson Hwy. east side turnout near Isabel Pass and Fielding Lake access road (potable - use at your own risk)
2) - -40 miles north of Fairbanks- Mile 30 Elliott Hwy. west side turnout (also potable - use at your own risk), however it's best to skip this water hole compared to the other option 30 miles south of this location
3) - -10 miles north of Fairbanks- Mile 0 Elliott Hwy. west side turnout in Fox (1/4 mile from Steese Hwy junction) - spring water station - constantly water tested and monitored) is where I always get my drinking water supply and for the pets, as I make my trips count twice per year when making the drive there stocking up on roughly 42 gallons of water at one time during spring or summer and definitely during fall as this station is open year round....during winter the ice around the shack builds up so bad it's hard to keep still with your footing as you have to hold the jug while filling up which isn't fun, especially when your gloves start to get wet...the last winter trip I took there to get water was -38 below F as the heat tape along the well pipe barely kept the water supply flowing.
Alaska DOT is responsible for the spring water station as funds are allocated thru their department, as Alaska DEC does the water testing and monitoring.
This is the old shack during May 2006 that has now been rebuilt in 2010 or so :
The new shack was moved away from directly over the creek here (and relocated right where the fence is shown in the picture background), as during any intermittent colder April and May seasonal temperatures would not melt the ice along the creek in a sufficient matter which in turn would temporarily put the water station out of service, thus now the well pipes were also rerouted and held up even better for the winter months :
This spring water station is essential for the many cabins and other residents that have no running water living along the outskirts from every direction, so expect to see a crowd of people averaging 3 to 5 vehicles waiting their turn to fill their jugs :
The only other local places in the Fairbanks area that have a pump/nozzle/pay water type stations that I am aware of are :
Fairbanks :
1)- Northeast corner lot of Old Steese Hwy. and Trainor Gate Rd. located between Club Alaska bar and Mattress Ranch building, which are across the street from Fred Meyer East store.
2)- Can't remember exactly where on College Rd., but thinking near (east of) Creamers Field area around the vicinity where the Culligan sign is located.
North Pole :
3)- Forbes Laundry located one mile south of the North Pole overpass along the frontage road next to the Richardson Hwy. (can't miss it) 8th Ave. and St. Nicholas Dr. - the water nozzle is located within the south exterior wall of the building (open access facing 8th ave.)
If you have the hose preset positioned ready and jugs lined up and lids removed before activating the water, you should be lucky enough to get water for 10c a gallon as the system is based on a timer.
The potential inconvenient and unreliable part of getting water here is you need to go inside the laundromat to obtain a slot card which is a vending machine mounted in the wall just like the kind at a car wash (push button for a slot card, re-insert slot card, insert money, take out slot card) and insert the prepaid slot card in the water pump unit.
On my frequency of stopping there, one out of four times the water nozzle would be out of order (which when I was low on pet water supply in the past during late winter and did not want to buy water or drive to Fox, I started carrying a one inch flex hose and use the sink in the shower rooms to fill the pet jugs with), and half the time the slot cards are out of stock if you do not have one so it would be best to be there during daytime hours while an attendant is present if one would want water at this location.
1) - -160 miles south of Fairbanks- Around mile 204 Richardson Hwy. east side turnout near Isabel Pass and Fielding Lake access road (potable - use at your own risk)
2) - -40 miles north of Fairbanks- Mile 30 Elliott Hwy. west side turnout (also potable - use at your own risk), however it's best to skip this water hole compared to the other option 30 miles south of this location
3) - -10 miles north of Fairbanks- Mile 0 Elliott Hwy. west side turnout in Fox (1/4 mile from Steese Hwy junction) - spring water station - constantly water tested and monitored) is where I always get my drinking water supply and for the pets, as I make my trips count twice per year when making the drive there stocking up on roughly 42 gallons of water at one time during spring or summer and definitely during fall as this station is open year round....during winter the ice around the shack builds up so bad it's hard to keep still with your footing as you have to hold the jug while filling up which isn't fun, especially when your gloves start to get wet...the last winter trip I took there to get water was -38 below F as the heat tape along the well pipe barely kept the water supply flowing.
Alaska DOT is responsible for the spring water station as funds are allocated thru their department, as Alaska DEC does the water testing and monitoring.
This is the old shack during May 2006 that has now been rebuilt in 2010 or so :
The new shack was moved away from directly over the creek here (and relocated right where the fence is shown in the picture background), as during any intermittent colder April and May seasonal temperatures would not melt the ice along the creek in a sufficient matter which in turn would temporarily put the water station out of service, thus now the well pipes were also rerouted and held up even better for the winter months :
This spring water station is essential for the many cabins and other residents that have no running water living along the outskirts from every direction, so expect to see a crowd of people averaging 3 to 5 vehicles waiting their turn to fill their jugs :
The only other local places in the Fairbanks area that have a pump/nozzle/pay water type stations that I am aware of are :
Fairbanks :
1)- Northeast corner lot of Old Steese Hwy. and Trainor Gate Rd. located between Club Alaska bar and Mattress Ranch building, which are across the street from Fred Meyer East store.
2)- Can't remember exactly where on College Rd., but thinking near (east of) Creamers Field area around the vicinity where the Culligan sign is located.
North Pole :
3)- Forbes Laundry located one mile south of the North Pole overpass along the frontage road next to the Richardson Hwy. (can't miss it) 8th Ave. and St. Nicholas Dr. - the water nozzle is located within the south exterior wall of the building (open access facing 8th ave.)
If you have the hose preset positioned ready and jugs lined up and lids removed before activating the water, you should be lucky enough to get water for 10c a gallon as the system is based on a timer.
The potential inconvenient and unreliable part of getting water here is you need to go inside the laundromat to obtain a slot card which is a vending machine mounted in the wall just like the kind at a car wash (push button for a slot card, re-insert slot card, insert money, take out slot card) and insert the prepaid slot card in the water pump unit.
On my frequency of stopping there, one out of four times the water nozzle would be out of order (which when I was low on pet water supply in the past during late winter and did not want to buy water or drive to Fox, I started carrying a one inch flex hose and use the sink in the shower rooms to fill the pet jugs with), and half the time the slot cards are out of stock if you do not have one so it would be best to be there during daytime hours while an attendant is present if one would want water at this location.
