BROWNING, Mont. – Foul-looking water and a crumbling delivery system are combining to create hardships for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation’s main population center.
“It’s getting pretty close to being dilapidated,” says Mayor Willie Morris. “There’s many times my crew has to work 24 hours a day to keep it going. The current infrastructure is in dire need.”
The aging system is in such bad shape that 20 to 50 line breaks occur every year. Even a minor break costs an average of $1,000 to repair, Morris says, and more than $30,000 was spent on two major repair jobs this spring. The system, originally built in the early 1900s, has been inadequate for decades, but further deterioration is causing frequent shutdowns in the community, as well as increasing concerns about fire protection.
As with other municipalities facing similar problems, the issue is money. Because of its reservation land status, Browning has one of the smallest tax bases in Montana, and finding outside help has been frustrating. In all, Morris says, only about $20,000 a year in property tax revenue is collected from within the town’s boundaries.
Along with the near-constant leaks, which often force officials to drain the town’s storage tanks and shut the entire system down, Browning’s water is typically tinged black. The discoloration, which stains clothes, sinks and tubs, is caused by naturally high levels of manganese and iron. When purifying chlorine is mixed into the water, it oxidizes the minerals, turns the water black, and creates a residual sludge that accumulates in delivery pipes, tanks and residential and commercial outlets.
Broad fluctuations in pressure, exacerbated by all the repairs, help keep the material suspended, making the discoloration worse.
While health officials maintain the water is still safe, Morris agrees that drinking tap water in Browning is not a pleasant experience.
“It’s tough to get it out of there,” he says of the oxidized material moving throughout the system. “It’s drinkable, but people don’t want to drink dirty water, even though it’s not harmful for you.”
The current system has about 1,800 hookups that serve a minimum of 4,500 people, Morris says. But service numbers are likely higher, perhaps up to 7,000 people, because so many people share housing in this poverty-stricken town.
Morris would like to have 2,000 gallons of water a minute available for Browning, but only has 750 gallons a minute to work with. A recent renovation of the nearby Flat Iron wellsite helped increase capacity, but not enough to serve all of the town’s needs, he says.
The lack of reliable, clean water is putting a crimp on economic development, and has already stopped a desperately needed housing project from being built, Morris and Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Bill Old Chief say.
Town and tribal officials are looking at a few possible alternatives to boost up the old system.
One idea, which has been studied extensively by the Indian Health Service, is to tap water from Two Medicine Reservoir, 18 to 20 miles away, treat it and pump it to town. That option, which potentially could be shared with the community of East Glacier Park, would cost about $10 million, Morris says.
Another option is to build a reservoir and treatment plant at the existing Flat Iron site, which would cost at least $10 million.
Officials also are looking at another site along Cut Bank Creek for a possible new wellfield.
But even if a new water source and money for its development is found, the town’s delivery system and a million-gallon storage tank need to be replaced. That could cost another $10 million, Morris says.
For now, Browning residents enjoy some of the lowest water rates in the country, with assessments set at $1.78 per 1,000 gallons, even with two recent increases. Morris says most towns of similar size pay more than $10 per 1,000 gallons, but civic leaders are acutely aware that incomes on the reservation are generally low, and unemployment, which reached an estimated 69 percent last winter, is almost always high.
“We only have just enough revenue to get by,” Morris says of the town’s water account. “We don’t have enough to build reserves.”
Finding enough grant revenue to replace the system has been a continual challenge, Morris says, and the grants that have been located “fall well short of the needed money.” Loans are not the most desirable option, he says, because the sharp increase in rates that would be needed to repay the money would create more economic hardship for residents.
For example, he says, a loan of $5 million to $8 million would boost water rates an estimated $22 a month.
“You can’t throw that at people,” he says. “It’s tough.”
Tribal and town leaders have solicited Congress for direct funding, but to no avail. Various state officials have been consulted, as well. While some pending grant applications look promising, Morris says its going to take a patchwork of funding to put a new project together.
“It’s not something I see happening right around the corner,” he says, estimating that it would be a minimum of two years before any ground could be broken even if the current applications are approved.
“When the voters start saying, ‘I’m not going to take it anymore,’ usually the politicians start to listen. We’ve let them know we’re coming and we want some help. The more we can get, the less we’ll have to raise the rates.”
But, he adds, all is not bleak and all the hard work seeking solutions is starting to pay off. One bright spot, Morris sees is that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has earmarked $1.5 million to help, and that money can be used to match other potential funding.
“We plug away on it every day,” he says. “You can start seeing a few things happening. We’re hoping to show the need is greater here than anywhere else.