Argyle gas station addresses fuel problem

Work will likely begin this week on a fix to a problem that has frustrated some drivers who filled up at the Johnny Joe’s on Hwy 377 in Argyle.

The manager of the convenience store and gas station says water was getting into the gasoline storage tanks during heavy rains, and that was causing some car trouble for customers.

Store Manager Daniella Oritiz says at some point things got moved around near where the gasoline storage tank is on the property and it caused problems with the tank seal.

“The water would go over the tank and leak down to where the tank is every time we’d get a heavy rain,” Ortiz said. She added that they had tried to get the issue addressed in the past, but Ortiz says a prior repair was not done properly and the problem persisted.

The Argyle Johnny Joe’s, which has been in business for years, has not been selling gasoline for about three months as the franchise has worked to come up with a solution to the water problem. Ortiz says they have done their best to make things right with customers.

“‘We were having issues with people’s cars breaking down, and all those repairs were paid back to them, but we’d rather repair this and just put in a new tank,” Ortiz said.

Workers dropped off equipment that will be needed to put in the new, properly sealed tank on Friday, and Ortiz says once they get started and begin digging it will likely be two or three weeks before they’re able to start selling gas to customers again.