The village council of an Alaska town is asking residents to conserve water by not drinking from their faucets, doing laundry or flushing their toilets. Officials in Minto, located 130 miles north of Fairbanks, have rationed the water because the town’s wells are not producing enough water for the 250 residents, and they lost water from their 150,000-gallon water storage tank after a main water line break last winter.
Village council members noticed the water levels in the tank declining; however, they were not sure why. Though they were able to locate the water break in March, by the time it was discovered, a significant amount of water had already been drained from the tank. The wells have not been able to keep up since.
Residents and village council members are remaining hopeful about the situation, however. Minto Village Chief Lori Baker said residents were helping retrieve water from the nearby Tolovana River to make sure there is enough to go around.
“We’re just taking this day by day,” Baker told The Juneau Empire. “We should be fine by next month.”
