Small Colorado town of Iliff may be without water for a total of up to 3 weeks

ILIFF, Colo. - A small town on Colorado's Eastern Plains has been without water for more than nine days, and officials don't anticipate a solution soon.

The town of Iliff 250 residents were left without water when a water main running beneath the nearby South Platte River ruptured May 31. The river was swollen from weeks of storms.

Jody Dietrich and her husband, Tim, have been driving 30 miles round-trip everyday to shower at their daughter's home on the other side of Sterling.

"It’s hard to keep clean," said Jody. "You can’t use water so we bought disinfectant. Our dishwasher’s full, you can’t use that."

"Inconvenience is one thing, but – there’s a lot of older people in this town that can’t get out or get around," said Tim Dietrich.

The town has put up port-a-potties on many street corners and has two huge water bladders at the school for people to fill up with drinking water.

"It has been rough," said Tracey Hovey who has a two-year-old. "No baths and no water unless you bring it in from Sterling. We're surviving, but it'll sure be nice when they get it done."

Tyler Krier is with Concrete Specialties, the company working to repair the ruptured line.

"The ground water table is so high that we had to put in 40 foot screens," he said. "We'll try to fix it as quickly as possible."

Mayor Julie Dunlap says she anticipates another 10 to 14 days before a temporary water supply is installed.

The Logan County municipality has been surviving on two 500-gallon potable water bladders, bottled water and portable toilets.

The town has hired a contractor to install a temporary water line, but full repair will have to wait until the river's water level falls - possibly as late as August.