Construction crews have been working since early Saturday morning to get water back to the people in Fort Benton.
“Somewhere about 11, 12:00 at night we had a water break,” Lanny Walker, Mayor of Fort Benton said, “And that's the worst time of day for a break because nobody's watching.”
The city was not notified until after 1:00 A.M, after plenty of damage had occurred. When the city isolated the damaged pipe, it lead to additional pressure on other parts.
“In the course of fixing that first break, two more breaks occurred because the pumps were running at the plant,” Mayor Walker said.
The Grand Union Hotel was notified by their guests at 10:00 A.M. that they did not have water.
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“It’s modern plumbing,” Colette Longin, Owner and Operator of the Grand Union Hotel said, “It went through its rehabilitation in the late nineties, so everything is new and updated, but still it's an old building and you do worry about water pressure and those kind of issues, however. And everything has seemed to be okay.”
The city is doing what it can to get things back in order as soon as possible.
“My best guess is we probably lost water to maybe two thirds of the town,” Mayor Walker said, “But now we got it down to probably less than half.”
The Department of Emergency Services has been getting water to people who need it, and the city suggests running your water a bit after it comes back to make sure it is running clear.
“Thank you, everybody, for their patience and their understanding,” Mayor Walker said, “Its been quite an ordeal.”
While it is frustrating, many residents of Fort Benton are understanding and realize that this is something that can happen with an old town with old infrastructure. Mostly the residents are thankful toward the city for working as quick as they can to fix the issue.
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