Break again causes water loss at Rocky Boy

Several homes on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation had to have access to drinking water restored again after they went without it for part of the weekend, Chippewa Cree Tribal Water Resources  Director Dustin White said Monday.

Seven or eight homes in upper Haystack, a residential area in the northeastern corner of the reservation were affected, but now have running water restored, White said.

“We got it fixed, repaired and everybody is back with water again,” White said.

He said Water Resources began receiving calls from residents in the affected area Friday night, leading them to look into the cause of the diminished water pressure and deliver bottled water to impacted customers.

White said that about 6:30 a.m Saturday, the Department received a call from people who had been out of their home for four or five days and reported a leak in a crawl space within the house.  

The pipe froze during the tail end of a cold spell Wednesday and Thursday, before warmer temperatures Friday caused the water to thaw and leak out of the cracked pipe, White said. Water was shut off by 9 a.m.  and  a section of pipe was replaced. All affected residents again had access to running water later in the afternoon.

White said the loss of water pressure and efforts at repair cost Water Resources about $1000 in wages and materials.

The fact a leak in one home led to the loss of water to adjacent homes demonstrates the fragile condition of the reservation’s water system, White said.

“One water break will affect eight to 10 homes, so (if) you have six or seven homes, then your whole system is out of water,” White said.

A break in late December led to between 1,500 and 2,000 homes losing access to running water and measures to mitagate possible contamination of the water supply. After water pressure was restored, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an order for all affected homes to boil water before drinking it. The order was lifted Jan. 8, after tests of the water found that it was safe to drink.

Incidents on the reservation leading to homes losing access to running water occur on average five to seven times a year, White said.  

He said residents are encouraged to check crawl spaces and other areas through which pipes run and either make sure the heat is turned on or that Water Resources is notified before people leave their homes for a period of days so water can be temporarily shut off so that pipes do not become frozen.