Prep work underway for St. Mary Canal Siphon repair

LETHBRIDGE — On June 17, the St. Mary Canal Siphon north of Babb, Mont., suffered a catastrophic failure.

The more-than-100-year siphon failed due to age.

Prep work is underway to repair the siphon but it won't be a quick fix.

"Our current timeline is to be able to complete this project by fall of 2025. Our goal is to have it done and ready to move water by September of 2025," said Ryan Newman, Montana area manager of the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Bureau of Reclamation opted for a full replacement of the siphon rather than a temporary solution to pump water.

Another nearby siphon that's in similar or even worse condition will also be replaced.

The project will cost around $70 million.

The cost will be split between the U.S. federal government and the water users.

"At the end of the day, it's roughly 50-50. About 52 per cent on the federal government, 48 per cent on the water users, which makes it a lot more palatable for the state and the water users to take this project on," Newman said.

The broken siphon has taken a toll on the Milk River.

Flow in the river has dropped from about 17 and a half cubic metres per second down to less than half a cubic metre per second.

"We do know that the river level has dropped substantially. So we're just keeping an eye on the infiltration just to be sure that there's still water that's able to be pumped," said Kelly Lloyd, CAO of the Town of Milk River.

The Town of Milk River has introduced water restrictions to preserve the supply.

Some of the measures include prohibiting all non-essential water use, only allowing lawn watering two days a week and prohibiting bulk water sales except for domestic and livestock use.

"Just given all of the unknowns around the water supply, council felt it was their due diligence to ask everyone to go to a Level 2 water restriction," Lloyd said.

The Town of Milk River's reservoirs are still full despite the low river flow.

The reservoirs hold approximately six to seven months of water.