Problems shut down water for some Rocky Boy residents

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.

It will be about another two weeks before the 1,500 to 2,000 Rocky Boy residents affected will be able to start drinking water from their faucets, Dustin White, interim director of Tribal Water Resources for the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the reservation, said this morning.

As of this morning, White said, all the known leaks have been found and repaired  and pressure is being restored in the system. About 500 homes, half the reservation, has been affected by the pipes’ bursting, he added.

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

White said Friday afternoon that citizens had been being notified of the crisis and that 24-bottle water cases were available at the Tribal Water Resource office and that water was being delivered to the disabled and elderly. Every affected family receives a 24-bottle case of water daily, he said.

Once total pressure has been restored, three days must pass during which bacteria samples must be submitted to the EPA for proof that the water is safe.

“The test results should all be back Friday (Dec. 30). if they are good, then we will go to a weekly testing,” White said.

After that, Meredith said, there will still be between two and three weeks before water will be safe for drinking. 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.

Communication between tribal and EPA officials was fragmented Friday, Meredith said..

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 were also affected.