Taps flow again in Long Plain First Nation after water ran dry

Long Plain First Nation had to call on help from its neighbours over the weekend after its water supply ran dry on Friday.

Now as tanker trucks haul water from nearby Portage la Prairie to replenish the First Nation's reservoir, leaders in the First Nation are searching for a long-term solution.

"I think people are quite concerned by it," Chief Dennis Meeches said about the persistently hot and dry conditions, which drained aquifers that feed the community's reservoir.

"I know we've had challenges with our system, our water plant, over the years, but the drought's compounding all of that."

On Friday, Meeches received a call from the operator of the First Nation's water plant telling him they needed to shut down the pumps because they were "basically sucking air."

Tankers from nearby communities — including one from nearby Rosedale Hutterite Colony and four from Swan Lake First Nation — hauled hundreds of gallons of water from Portage la Prairie over the weekend.

Wayne Wall, chair of the waterworks committee for the City of Portage la Prairie, said the city was happy to help out its neighbours.

"Water is life, so we can't let people go without it," he said.

Portage la Prairie draws its water from the Assiniboine River, which still had plenty of water to supply Long Plain despite water flows being well below average for this time of year, Wall said.

The tankers were able to fill the reservoir enough to allow Long Plain to resume pumping water to its residents, but with no rain in sight, those trucks must continue hauling water to the First Nation until a temporary solution can be found.

Long Plain has contracted with a local company to drill a line into a new aquifer, which Meeches expects to be complete by Friday.

In the long term, however, the First Nation's engineers have recommended finding a new source of water, something Meeches said it has been searching for for years.

A 2014 study commissioned by the First Nation recommended tapping into Portage la Prairie's supply. Meeches says the community will revisit that recommendation.