LAME DEER Frustration is growing in the Northern Cheyenne community of Lame Deer as hundreds of residents have gone days without reliable running water, a situation leaders say highlights an aging water system nearing the end o f its life.Watch how water issues are impacting the town of Lame Deer: Lame Deer water outage exposes aging infrastructure as sewage problems emergeOver 300 residents have been affected since Wednesday after a pump failure disrupted water service to homes, primarily on the east and south sides of town. The outage has upended daily life, forcing families to haul drinking water, rely on portable toilets, and use public showers.I'm starting to think it's affecting everybody in the town of Lame Deer now, said Northern Cheyenne President Gene Small.To assist, Lame Deer High School has opened its locker room showers to the public on Sunday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and again on Monday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Both the elementary school and high school will be in remote learning on Monday due to the ongoing water issues.Small said utility workers and maintenance crews have been working around the clock but are hampered by a system that is simply too old to function reliably. We're working hard, you know, this utility is working hard, but we're working with a failed system right now, said Small. This infrastructure has been outdated for quite some time now. I'm going to say 60, 70 years old.The immediate cause of the outage was a malfunctioning pump at one of the towns pump houses, which feeds a storage tank supplying water to parts of the community. When the pump failed, it also burned out a specialized fuse panel, triggering a cascade of additional problems, Small said.Utility officials said replacing the damaged panel proved difficult because it is an older, programmed model that is no longer readily available. Once that issue was resolved, crews discovered the well pump itself had failed. Crews temporarily installed a smaller 7.5-horsepower pump that delivers about 80 gallons per minute, which Small hoped was enough to stabilize service until a proper replacement can be found.While some water was restored on Saturday, the system remained inconsistent. By Sunday, sewage backups were reported in parts of town as pressure fluctuated.Everything was up and running. Everything was looking good, and now, we don't know, said Small. "It's kind of crazy because some people are getting water, some people ain't, then all of a sudden the other people are getting water, then these people ain't." Northern Cheyenne Utility Commission Board President Richard Hamilton said crews planned to shut off parts of the system Sunday to allow storage tanks to refill, which will affect the east side, south side, and Sweet Medicine, as well as the Lame Deer Elementary School. Officials hoped to install a larger pump by Monday and restore water service more fully. Residents were urged to report leaks as crews worked to stabilize the system.Tribal leaders say the problems are rooted in infrastructure that is estimated to be 60 to 70 years old, far beyond its intended lifespan. Similar water disruptions have occurred multiple times over the past several years.Related: 2 line breaks cut off water to parts of Lame Deer; school let out early"People are starting to get upset and starting to get frustrated with it, as well as everybody else," said Small. "I'm frustrated, frustrated just as much as they are."Surrounding communities have helped supply bottled water, but officials said additional donations are still needed. Small said the tribe cannot declare a state of emergency until all internal options are exhausted.Looking ahead, tribal leaders say repairs alone are no longer enough. Once water service is restored, leaders hope to pursue grants, donations, and other funding to replace aging pipes and equipment with the goal of preventing future disruptions and ensuring reliable water access for the community."My goal is to start to look at how we can get some funds moving in here? How can we get this fixed?" said Small. "We're past the repair and maintenance point now. I think we're to the new point now." ...read more read less