Milk River to be a 'dry town' as repairing burst water pipeline to last into next year

Some communities and farms in the Milk River basin are facing extended water challenges after officials announced repairs to two century-old siphons near the Canada-U.S. border won't be complete until late summer or early fall 2025.

The siphons located east of Glacier National Park failed on June 17, bursting open and flooding the surrounding areas.

They are a critical component of the Milk River Project, which diverts water from the St. Mary River through northern Montana and across southern Alberta.

"That structure is over 100 years old, and so it's reached the end of its functional service life," said Ryan Newman, area manager for the Montana area office with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 

"It was showing significant signs of its age a couple of decades ago … [it was] just a matter of time before it ultimately failed."

The infrastructure failure is affecting municipalities, including Milk River, Alta., situated near the U.S.-Canada border.

Given the natural flow of the Milk River being reduced, the town's ability to withdraw water through its raw water intake to top up raw water reservoirs has been impacted, the town wrote in a post on Facebook.

As such, the town has told residents that all non-essential water use is prohibited.

"It's going to be a dry town — literally," said Milk River Mayor Larry Liebelt. 

Earlier this month, officials with the Bureau of Reclamation held a town hall in Malta, Mont., where they outlined the results of a technical evaluation they had conducted.

During that meeting, officials said it wouldn't be possible to implement a temporary fix to the structure, citing high costs that would deliver only a fraction of normal diversions.

Instead, officials said they would pursue a full replacement of the siphons. But that $70-million project will take longer than a year to complete.

The reservoirs are full right now, Liebelt said, and the town is hopeful it can maintain pumping from the river at a lower rate. That's necessitated the water restrictions.

"Definitely, people that take pride in their yard, it's going to be hard on them," he said. "There's a lot of concerns about maintaining the reservoirs full … there's a lot of contingency plans being looked at right now."

Ryan Fournier, a spokesperson for Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, stated the ministry is aware there are no guarantees that water diversions will resume in time for the 2025 irrigation season.

"Alberta's government is working closely with local officials to ensure we protect the town's drinking water system capacity, even during times of high usage," Fournier wrote in a statement.

"Rest assured, if any additional action is needed in the coming months, we will work with communities in the Milk River basin to help support any water conservation measures and adapt their infrastructure, if needed."