News Releases for March 2004
March 5, 2004
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Hoeven Directs State Agencies To Assist With Garrison Water Supply Outage
Governor Meets With Garrison Officials
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today will meet with officials and residents of Garrison to assess the situation on the ground in the wake of a water shortage in the city and surrounding rural communities. Hoeven has already directed the North Dakota Division of Emergency Management, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and other state agencies to render assistance as needed to relieve hardship in the community.
“Our first priority is making sure that people have safe drinkable water, and that all emergency services are able to function,” Hoeven said. “I will be meeting with officials in Garrison to see how we can help further, and I have directed all of our state agencies to be as responsive as possible to the needs of citizens in Garrison and the surrounding rural area, especially with regard to health and emergency issues,” Hoeven said.
The North Dakota Department of Health is currently working with city officials to restart the city’s old well to replenish the reservoir to provide a temporary supply of non-drinkable water. That could be accomplished by the end of the day Friday. At the same time, Northern Improvements has been contacted to provide a pump to deliver water to the city’s water lines. If successful, that could be completed as early as Saturday. The water will be tested as quickly as possible for safety before it is approved for drinking. Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson, Inc. of Dickinson is sending an engineer to assist.
Between 1,700 and 1,800 residents in Garrison and rural Garrison are currently without water. The cause of the outage is as yet undetermined. Local officials are working with a diver from Arrow Divers in Minot to help identify the cause at the source. Last November, Hoeven issued a water emergency on the Upper Missouri River Basin, which would apply if the problem is related to the level of water on Lake Sakakawea.
The city is still under a boil order, but the Red Cross and Granite Springs are in the city to distribute drinkable water, and portable toilets are available at City Hall.
Regular updates are being provided on the city’s web page.
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