RED LODGE- About 40 homes in Red Lodge were still without running water Friday because of freezing pipes.
The Red Lodge City Council held an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon, where Mayor Bill Larson signed an executive order to allow a higher water usage before being charged more.
The pipes are frozen between the water main and the houses.
Businesses have donated pallets of water.
Drinking water and buckets of water for toilets are available at the fire station and can be delivered.
The City Council did not pass a resolution raising the monthly minimum water usage from 3,000 gallons to 8,000 gallons and using $15,000 of unclaimed water deposit money.
Larson then used the executive order that only included raising the water usage amount.
“It allows the people of the community to go ahead and run a little stream of water in their sink to keep their pipes from freezing,” Larson said. “And or helping their neighbor out by connecting a garden hose from house to house to supply their neighbor’s house with water during this time. We have neighbors helping neighbors. We have families letting other families stay with them and it’s actually going very well.”
Larson said each year, about five homes have had pipes freeze and some need repairs.
He said it’s not known if the frozen pipes have been damaged.
