St. Mary's Glacier: No Drinking Water For 11 Days
ST. MARY'S GLACIER, Colo. (CBS4)- People who live in St. Mary's Glacier are concerned after they haven't been able to drink or use their water in 11 days.
An emergency meeting is planned on Friday night for those who live in the mountain community located just off Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs, about 45 minutes west of Denver.
The homes affected are near St. Mary's Glacier.
Nearly 300 boxes of drinking water were dropped off for residents by the Salvation Army and Walmart.
"Our hearts really go out to these people who have been waiting for a resolution," said Salvation Army spokeswoman Melissa McKewen.
Perma frost is the main reason for the low water levels. A faulty valve on a storage tank affected the reserve supplies and when the valves finally kicked on again last week, the pressure caused a crack and leak in the line.
"We were so close and that was disappointing," said St. Mary's Glacier Water and Sanitation spokeswoman Kat Thompson.
Crews are working on refilling the rest of the system which means water is flowing.
"I have cloudy water, I don't know if I want to bathe in it, my skin might fall off!" said St. Mary's Glacier resident Brock Cureton.
A water boil order is in effect but Thompson is asking residents to conserve water anyway.
"We need the water to flush the system and we are asking them to please not use it," said Thompson.
The next step in the process is to completely fill up the system and then flush it and then fill it up again. Then that water will be tested. Results take 24 to 48 hours.
St. Mary's Glacier residents will have to wait until at least Tuesday at the earliest for running water. And that is if all the testing comes back negative for contaminates.
