Water break costs water access at Rocky Boy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation Thursday after multiple water pipes burst and residents lost access to clean water with three days left until Christmas.

The emergency order, Sienna Meredith from the Montana office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday morning, urges reservation officials to notify the estimated 115 affected residents and provide alternative sources of water.

Dustin White, interim director of Tribal Water Resources for the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the reservation, said Friday afternoon that work on restoring pressure back in the water system was in progress, citizens were being notified of the crisis and that 24-bottle water cases were now available at the Tribal Water Resource office. White said water was being delivered to the disabled and elderly. Every affected family receives a 24-bottle case of water daily, he said.

Once all the leaks have been found and repaired, and pressure restored — White said the goal is for that to happen within a couple of days — three days must pass during which bacteria samples must be submitted to the EPA for proof that the water is safe.

After that, Meredith said, there will still be several days during which drinking water must be boiled before using. But it will be fine for other uses such as laundry and toilet flushing, she said.

The proper procedure, Meredith said, is to find the leaks, restore pressure to the system, flush and disinfect the system, and take bacteria samples to verify the water is safe.

Meredith said the Montana EPA had received reports about the water main breaks Dec. 22. She said she had learned from tribal officials that the frigid temperatures from a few weeks ago coupled with the inflow of above freezing temperature is most likely what caused the pipes to burst. Last she spoke with anyone, work on finding all the leaks was still being done.

She said the people affected were those off Bonneau Village, Middle Dry Fork and St. Pierre Road. The Justice Center, Stone Child College and Headstart was also affected.