Relentless rains pounding the tiny Eastern Plains town of Iliff — population 250 — have left its residents high and dry.
Sinks and toilets stopped running eight days ago in the Logan County municipality, when a water main running beneath the nearby South Platte River, swollen by weeks of torrential storms, ruptured.
“We are advising our residents to anticipate another 10 to 14 days before we have a temporary water supply to Iliff,” said Julie Dunlap, mayor of the town roughly 12 miles northeast of Sterling. “We’ve got some flooding down at the South Platte that is hindering work.”
The town woke up May 31 without water, and while officials say they don’t know exactly why the line broke, they are suspicious of the roaring river. Dunlap said town leadership has been “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” trying to manage the situation.
“At Day 8, I think the frustration levels are definitely getting a little higher, for me included,” Dunlap said Monday. “It’s difficult. Your normal routine is getting altered. I’m guessing we’re going to have some frustration levels getting a little bit higher. It’s not particularly easy.”
The town off U.S. 138, named after a cattle baron in the late 1800s who owned thousands of acres of surrounding land, has been surviving on two 500-gallon potable water bladders, bottled water and portable toilets.
Pat Stumps, the wife of Iliff’s only maintenance worker, says her family’s phone has been ringing off the hook.
“Everybody wants to know when the water is going to be back on and this, that and everything else,” she said. “Everybody is getting frustrated, but what can you do, though? There’s not much you can do.”
Stumps said her main concern is for the town’s families with their large laundry loads and parched children.
“It’ll happen one of these days,” she said of the water’s return.
For Cathy Kuskie, who has lived in Iliff for 24 years, the water outage has turned into a family affair. Her son and grandson fill up 5-gallon buckets at work, while her brother in Sterling has opened his home for showers and laundry.
“After a week now, I’m a little emotional,” she said. “Not everybody has somebody they can impose on.”
Kuskie also said information about the situation has not always been forthcoming. She relies on reports from her brother, who gets his news from The Journal-Advocate, Sterling’s newspaper.
“There are a lot of good people around here,” she said. “It could be worse, I guess.”
Cody Adams, the Logan County emergency manager, described a steady relief effort.
“For the most part, the city is handling it quite well,” he said, describing the town council’s efforts as “phenomenal.” “It’s a very small, tight-knit community.”
While the town council has hired a contractor to install a temporary waterline, full repair will have to wait until the river’s water level falls, which could be months away, Adams said.
The nearby towns of Sterling and Crook opened local recreation areas for residents to take showers. Adams said some elderly and disabled residents have been visited to make sure they are supplied.
Dennis Fuller, the Sterling recreational superintendent, said they’ve had 103 visits to their facilities from Iliff’s showerless.
“Small towns — we band together and we help each other out,” he said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
