I have been using Aqua 2000 here in El Centro (run by Canyon State Water out of Yuma) ever since they opened a location at the old Walmart location (20 years?!?!). Was very pleased when they opened a location at 8th and Broadway since that's closer to my house. Unfortunately, things have been going downhill for Aqua 2000 over the last couple of years. In the last month or so, I have visited my favored location four times and each time something was wrong. Once, there was water just flowing out of the building (I called their 888 number to report). There have been times when only one side worked. Other times, both sides were inoperable. Today, I visited, put in two dollar bills expecting to receive $0.50 change. I received my five gallons of water, but no change. As others have noted, there is no use calling them because nothing happens. This hasn't always been the case. Years ago, I called about not getting change and they sent it to me via USPS. I have run into the gentleman tasked with maintaining the machine and I expressed my displeasure with losing money every once in a while. He blamed it on us customers not knowing how to insert coins into the machine properly causing it to jam. I will admit that the site receives it's fair share of vandalism and evidence of people trying to pry open the mechanism to try and get at the cash inside. I just feel that some updating and improving are way overdue. It is getting so bad that I question the quality of water that the machine dispenses.
The location at Garcia Plaza (4th and Ross) isn't much better, and the ice dispenser there is so close to the water dispenser that people getting ice will park their car and block one side of the water dispenser. read more