This article was published on: 01/27/23 3:16 PM
In mid-2019, the water delivery system on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation failed spectacularly. Burst pipes and broken water pumps combined to shut down the system, leaving around 3,800 residents of the area without safe drinking water for months on end.
It has taken some time for the wheels of bureaucracy to make amends, but after nearly four years, progress is being made — funding for a new water treatment plant has been secured and the design process for the facility is in progress, according to Marshall Cohen, public affairs specialist for the Indian Health Service, an agency that provides health services to members of federally recognized tribes and Alaska native people.
“We are targeting to have the design/build contract documents complete by the end of the year,” Cohen said in an email. “Following that, solicitation and construction of the replacement water treatment plant is expected to take approximately 30-36 months if conditions are favorable.”
-Michael Kohn