On October 22, the water pressure suddenly dropped in St. George, a community of around 35 people in the Pribilofs. The water was no longer safe to drink.
Anastasia Kashevarof stated, “It’s been quite murky.” It’s brown, even after boiling it. It won’t wash my dishes.
She stated that bottled water was available quickly. Some homes were not affected, but many had to transport 5-gallon buckets full of water from the public safety facility to their homes in order to flush toilets or mop floors.
Kashevarof, a working mother and a mother to two children, said that it was difficult to keep up.
She said, “I’m trying to find a friend’s house with running water so that I can borrow their shower to wash my family.”
Native corporations, tribes and other groups donated bottled waters, which was greatly appreciated. The city crew couldn’t find the leak even after many days.
Mark Merculief was the mayor of St. George. He said that the problem had been a mystery up until Nov. 16, when water engineers arrived and found the solution.
Merculief stated, “We have narrowed it to a break. It’s like a one inch line to the old homes.”
The crew discovered a pipe break that was located right on top a large rock when they dug into the ground.
Merculief wondered if the line had been damaged by an earthquake, which gave St. George a strong jolt a few days prior to the water system’s failure.
He said, “The break was so good that you couldn’t have a better one.” “We thought, “Wow, it wouldn’t take much to fix this given the stress that this was going through.”
Repairing the line took over a day. The problems aren’t over yet.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued a boil-water notice. Cindy Christian, the Drinking Water Program Manager for DEC, stated that it takes time to lift an ordered.
She said that chlorine will be run through the system to disinfect water lines. “As soon we have three satisfactory samples, they will be able lift the boil water notice so long as they maintain pressure.”
Although it may take a while before things get back to normal, Kashevarof expressed gratitude to the engineers and city crew for their hard work.
She said, “It’s frustrating for everybody in the community and especially the city workers trying solve this issue.”
The mayor sees it as a learning opportunity.
Merculief stated, “You have to know the ins-and-outs of your systems here, which is a great way, and also to be capable to in the future in meetings — whether it’s state or federal agencies — to be in a position to explain situations like those,”
It is possible that the exact cause of the waterline failure will never be discovered.
