PHILIPSBURG — Phillipsburg is quiet Monday, as schools and businesses close their doors for a city-issued water advisory.
Posted on the door of local shops, the advisory asks residents to conserve their water.
“Whether it's business and commerce, or all these sorts of things are predicated on clean water and wastewater,” said Philipsburg Mayor Daniel Reddish.
Philipsburg gets its municipal water supply from Fred Burr, a high mountain lake.
With the help of gravity the 7 miles of pipeline run through remote and steep terrain to make its way to the town. So when water becomes a limited source, it forces people to rethink their usage.
“Decided from there that we would just limit our water usage, limit the bathroom, go to plastic-only because we don't have to do dishes,” said Maranda Williams, Philipsburg Brewing Company taproom manager.
For Philipsburg Brewing Company, they were able to stay open, but just across the street others closed for the day.
But the one-stoplight town rallies together. Volunteer snowmobilers found the breach in the pipeline and LifeFlight helped Public Works get the right tools up there to fix the pipe.
Mayor Reddish asks that while the water starts to flow again, to still be mindful of use for the next couple of days and to report any issues to Town Hall or Public Works.
