For the past few days, the Montana National Guard has been using trucks to pump water into the Montana State Prison's main water tank after discovering a rupture that has caused significant disruption at the facility.
The crisis began Friday morning when the prison lost pressure to its main water supply, affecting essential services throughout the facility.
"Everything you could imagine, you know, for food service, for sanitation, showering, flushing of toilets, all that stuff," said Eric Strauss, deputy director of the Montana Department of Corrections.
WATCH: National Guard pumps water into Montana State Prison after main line rupture affects 1,600 inmates
By Sunday, crews were still working to locate the break along the prison's buried waterline. The National Guard has been hauling water to fill the prison's 300,000-gallon water tank to keep the system pressurized until the break can be found and repaired.
The prison has been providing approximately 1,600 inmates with seven bottles of drinking water per day. Inmates must use portable toilets, with staff escorting them to and from the facilities.
"It's obviously not ideal, but it's kind of the interim solution we have until we fix the problem," Strauss said.
The Department of Corrections claims inmates are adapting to the situation.
"The tenor of the inmates was good, I mean, they were expressing concerns about, like, when are we going to be able to shower, and we're recognizing that's a primary need for people, so we're doing everything we can to make sure we can get them a shower as soon as possible," Strauss said.
