IDAHO CITY -- An Idaho town is in the midst of a water crisis - losing a majority of the city's water supply because of a leak they can't find.

It’s happening in the historic mountain town of Idaho City.

Posted all over town is a notice warning residents that they must conserve water now in order to avoid having no water in the future.

City officials say there's a large leak somewhere along the city's 11 miles of underground water pipes.

That leak is causing the city to lose more than two thirds of the water used for things like drinking, bathing and outdoor watering.

Officials say the water is not forming a puddle - instead it's being absorbed into the ground.

What’s worse is that the mayor says the city doesn't have the money to dig up all the pipes to find the elusive leak or fix it when they find it.

"My worst fear is that we'll have to shut everybody's water off that's what this whole thing's been about, trying to avoid inconveniencing the people with no water, no shower, no toilets, and that's rough to live with," said Idaho City Mayor Jim Obland.

Experts with the Idaho National Laboratory came up to Idaho City for free and used their equipment to try to find the leak, but the mayor says those results are not back yet.

Although the city hopes to have a solution as soon as possible, residents should be prepared for their water being shut off periodically to conserve the precious resource, or in a worst-case scenario - water could be shut off for good.