City Of Tulsa Making Progress In Restoring Water Service To Thousands

The City of Tulsa said once its Mohawk Water Treatment Plant was restored Thursday morning, it was pumping at a rate of 180 million gallons a day, which is double a normal February day.

Thursday, the city also added options for the thousands of people with little or no water.

The number of homes in the Tulsa area without water is up to 1,600 and the number of businesses has nearly quadrupled, as crews repair broken lines across the city.

Larry Jordan told News On 6 he and his wife have not had running water at their North Tulsa home for three days.

"It's very hard,” said Jordan. “You have to have water to use the restroom, and you have to have your drinking water, and if you don't have those, you don't have anything."

As crews and contractors fix more than 250 water line breaks around Tulsa, they shut off the nearby valves to save water. More than 1,600 homes and 130 businesses were impacted as of Thursday evening.

“A large percentage of the business problems that we're having are sprinkler lines, and those are up in the attic or up overhead, so they don't have as much insulation," explained Andy Little with the Tulsa Fire Department.

Impacted customers may bring containers to get water at the River Spirit Expo or at any Tulsa fire Station.

Meanwhile, there is relief for the 1,800 homes that had low pressure or no water overnight when Tulsa's Mohawk Water Treatment Plant was shut off.

The city said there was a major leak, and a backup pump wouldn't start, but problems at the plant were fixed within five hours.

"Since then, we've been able to actually gain in our reserves and our tanks,” said Josh Bilby with the City of Tulsa. “Today has been a much better day. We're looking a lot better. Pressure should be restored throughout the city."

Crews still stress the importance of everyone conserving water while the temperatures are rising.

"As the ground warms up and we start seeing soil shifting, we should see more breaks," explained Clayton Edwards with the City of Tulsa.

To report water issues, you can call 918-596-9488 or 918-586-6999 or email waterbreaks@cityoftulsa.org

The water station at the fairgrounds is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice.