Sonja Nowakowski slung a case of bottled water into the back of a Butte resident’s SUV.

Nowakowski, director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, participated Sunday at the main office of Montana Resources in distributing cases of water to residents affected by current water use restrictions.

An errant hydrant connection at Montana Resources raised the possibility that process water from the sprawling copper and molybdenum mine in Butte might have mixed with municipal drinking water.

On Aug. 13, Montana Resources notified the Butte-Silver Bow Water Utility Division that an errant connection could have introduced unknown contaminants into the city’s water supply.

A Do Not Consume order was issued and refined for people living in the potentially affected area — located sou

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