Missoula County Public Works has hired a private contractor to repair a broken water line that serves several hundred homes in Lolo.

Public Works Director Shane Stack provided details of the ongoing work in Lolo.

“We had a water line break this morning in Lolo,” began Stack. “We just recently shut the water off and have begun excavation on Glacier Drive to repair that water line and we expect to have the repair completed by sometime this evening, but meanwhile, about 650 homes in Lolo have been affected.”

Stack said it was some staff members at the Public Works department who live in Lolo that noticed the broken water line.

“One of our staff members on their way to work today recognized that there looked to be a water leak and let our folks at the water system in Lolo know and they confirmed the leak, and we have hired a private contractor to repair the leak.”

Stack said the county Public Works department doesn’t have the equipment to repair the leak, so a private contractor was hired.

“We hired a contractor who has the skills and equipment to repair the water leak,” he said. “We had a similar repair last spring and I think the cost was between $15,000 and $20,000. The Lolo water and sewer system are an RSID and so that system is funded by the users through property taxes, and that’s who will have to pay for the repairs.”

Stack said the crew is working all afternoon and into the evening to repair the water line as quickly as possible and restore water to the over 650 homes affected in Lolo.

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