A team of engineers will evaluate a 14-inch water main break in Warm Springs on Sunday to determine how best to fix a problem that is forcing residents and businesses to boil their drinking water until further notice, said Alyssa Macy, chief operations officer of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

The break is in a section of pipeline that runs under Shitike Creek — the only place where it crosses the creek — and affects about 1,100 service connections, Macy said Saturday. A notice to boil drinking water for three minutes was issued Thursday — the fourth time in six months that such a notice has been issued — because of a loss of pressure in the water system, Macy said.

The cost and extent of repairs, as well as how long they will take, remains unknown, Macy said.

They will be complicated, in part, because repairs will mean water service will have to be shut off at times.

“That’s why it is a total crisis,” Macy said. “It is not an easy fix. It will be a complicated fix.”

The water line is part of a distribution system that originates in the Dry Creek Water Treatment Plant. Because some water remains in the system, residents and businesses are able to shower and use flush toilets, Macy said.

Businesses and residents south of Highway 26 will experience total water outages next week as repairs begin, she said.

The loss of water will have a direct impact on the Warm Springs K-8 Academy, Indian Health Service Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center, Early Childhood Education Center, High Lookee Lodge, Senior Center, Warm Springs Detention Facility, Boys & Girls Club, Museum at Warm Springs, Indian Head Casino, Warm Springs Composites, tribal buildings, businesses and residences, Macy said.

Boiling water will be necessary for all of the Warm Springs area served by the main line, including Kah-Nee-Ta, Wolfe Point, Sunnyside, Upper Dry Creek, Miller Heights, Campus Area, West Hills, Tenino Valley, Tenino Apartments, Elliott Heights, Senior Housing, Trailer Courts and Greeley Heights, Macy said.

The Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs approved an emergency disaster declaration Friday. The declaration allows the tribe to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funds to help with repairs and any impacts in the community.