Broken Arrow Water Emergency Rescinded

The City of Broken Arrow has rescinded the water emergency it declared earlier this week. That means it is lifting the precautionary boil advisory issued on June 11, 2013.

The city says testing of Broken Arrow's water supply showed no contaminants.

The city say the Tulsa County Health Department has been notified of the results. It says the department is working with the City of Broken Arrow to contact restaurants affected by the boil advisory.

The Tulsa County Health Department ordered all restaurants in Broken Arrow that serve open food to close on Wednesday, June 12, 2013.

6/12/2013: Related Story: Health Department Orders Broken Arrow Restaurants Closed

St. John Hospital in Broken Arrow closed its doors Wednesday due to the water emergency, but said in a statement Thursday morning that it was reopening immediately after learning the water samples contained no contaminants.

"As a result of concerns with potential water contamination from Tuesday's water main break, St. John Broken Arrow made a voluntary decision Wednesday to temporarily discontinue operations," said David Phillips, St. John Broken Arrow chief executive officer. "Patient safety is our highest priority, and we believe taking these precautionary measures was the right thing to do. We are fortunate that our patients were efficiently transferred to other St. John hospitals."

As part of its operational process, St. John Broken Arrow is replacing all water filters and flushing all water systems. All patient rooms were cleaned overnight with purified water.

06/12/2013 Related Story: Water Emergency Forces St. John Broken Arrow To Close

The emergency began Tuesday after a PSO transformer that powers Broken Arrow's water treatment facility went out Monday night. The city had to shut off its main water valve on its supply line from Pryor. That supply line burst when the city reopened it Tuesday. 

A repair crew fixed the break later that day, but because pressure dropped so low the city was forced to issue a boil advisory until test results could confirm the water had not been contaminated.

The city also banned outdoor watering in order to allow the water supply to recover. That ban was lifted earlier Thursday morning.

Broken Arrow splash pads will be reopened by 1 p.m. on Thursday. City pools will reopen at 4 p.m. and close at their regularly scheduled times.

The Tulsa County Health Department released guidelines to follow now that the boil order has been rescinded:

• Flush the building water lines and clean faucet screens, water line strainers on mechanical dishwashing machines

• Purge all water using fixtures and appliances, such as ice machines, beverage makers, hot water heaters, etc. Clean and sanitized all fixtures, sinks and equipment connected to waterlines

More Specific Details

• Cold Water Faucets: Run tap water until the water feels cold, 1 minute or more, before drinking, tooth brushing, or using for food preparation.

• Hot Water Faucets: To clear hot water pipes and water heater of untreated water, turn on all hot water faucets and flush for a minimum of 15 minutes for a typical household 40-gallon water tank and 30 minutes for an 80-gallon water tank or larger. Never use water from the "hot" faucet for drinking, cooking, or other internal-consumption purposes. After this flushing, hot water is then safe to use for washing hands, and for hand washing of dishes, pots and pans, etc.

• Refrigerators: Water dispensers from refrigerators should be flushed by at least one quart of water.

• Dishwashers: After flushing hot water pipes and water heater, run dishwasher empty one time.

• Ice cubes: Automatic ice dispensers should be emptied of ice made during the boil order. Then, discard ice made over an additional 24-hour period to assure complete purging of the water supply line.