Oregon reservation water treatment plant offline due to fire
WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (AP) — Officials with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central Oregon have issued an emergency water conservation notice after an underground fire shut the tribes’ water treatment plant.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs asked residents starting Friday to limit water use to essential needs only, KTVZ-TV reported.
In a Facebook post, officials said the notice affects users in the Agency Area, Upper Dry Creek, Sunnyside, Wolfe Point and Kah-Nee-Ta Hamlets
Tribal Emergency Manager Dan Martinez said an underground electrical fire “caused a complete shutdown of the water plant.”
“It’s totally down, out of operation,” Martinez said Saturday, while busy with other tribal officials bringing in showers and toilets. It’s the latest chapter in years of issues with the reservation’s aging water system, which has included outages, broken pipes and contamination that prompted several lengthy boil-water notices.
The large federal infrastructure bill passed late last year includes money to address serious water issues on the nation’s reservations, but such projects can take months to plan -- and years to complete.
Martinez said the water treatment plant could be shuttered from a week to two months and that the reservation is seeking water donations.
Related News
From Archive
- Inside Sempra’s 72-mile pipeline with 18 major trenchless crossings
- Trump vetoes bill to finish $1.3 billion Colorado water pipeline
- PHMSA warns of heat risks in aging plastic gas distribution pipelines following deadly Pennsylvania explosion
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- OSHA seeks $1.2 million fine after fatal trench collapse in Connecticut
- Worm-like robot burrows underground to cut power line installation costs
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- Construction jobs stumble into 2026 after weak year
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
Comments