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Frozen pipes leave some in Red Lodge without water

Posted at 11:29 AM, Mar 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-08 13:29:43-05

RED LODGE- Sub-zero temperatures have caused pipes to freeze in Red Lodge, which has led to about 40 homes without water.

Mayor Bill Larson said Thursday the city has a plan and is getting water to those affected.

Larson said about five homes had frozen pipes through February, which is normal most years. But more pipes have frozen in the last few weeks.

The freezing is happening in the branch line between the water main and the homes.

Bottled water for drinking and five-gallon buckets of water for toilets are available at the fire hall.

The city will deliver for those who cannot get to the fire hall.

And the recommendation is to run a “pencil lead” stream of water to help prevent any more freezing.

The mayor and several others met Thursday to discuss the matter.

“Public Works talked to me,” Larson said. “He felt that it was almost to an emergency level here. After we had our meetings, we knocked that down to, ‘let’s just take care of our people here, keep them hydrated make sure they have what they need.”‘

“A lot of them are going to friends and families homes, going to their neighbors, running hoses from the neighbor’s home to their house so they can maintain living in their residence.”

An emergency city council meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.

Larson said the council will move money to pay for what is needed and raise the minimum water usage for those running water to keep pipes from freezing.

David Jay reporting for MTN News