Montana State Prison Water Crisis Enters Fifth Day With Leak Still Unfound
Round-the-clock National Guard tanker runs are maintaining pressure pending leak detection by outside specialists.
Overview
- Two National Guard teams are running 24-hour water deliveries to the prison’s 300,000-gallon tank, with more than 200,000 gallons pumped by Monday evening to keep the system pressurized.
- Leak-detection consultants from Bozeman and Missoula are still searching for the buried rupture, with officials citing the prison’s aging infrastructure as a complicating factor.
- Emergency hygiene measures include 50 portable toilets and two portable-shower units totaling eight stalls on site, with the Department of Corrections seeking additional showers.
- Approximately 1,600 inmates are receiving about seven bottles of drinking water per day; meals, inmate services, and recreation continue, and no relocations have occurred.
- Extra personnel support includes Probation and Parole volunteers, a County Assist Team for logistics, and contingency officers from the Montana Women’s Prison, while families report unsanitary conditions.