McAlester Water Unsafe To Drink For Now As Pump Failure Gets Fixed

The water in McAlester and neighboring Pittsburg County communities is unsafe to drink after a pump failure earlier this week.

The city said the problem is fixed for now, but it will not be until Saturday at the earliest when water is deemed safe to drink again.

“We are absolutely in an emergency situation,” said Dave Andren, McAlester City Manager.

Andren said one of the pumps failed on Tuesday night, which will require extensive repairs. Another pump was unable to go online until Thursday night because of panel issues.

“Every electrician that we’ve brought in, every expert that we’ve brought in, they’re all scratching their heads trying to figure out how this isn’t working,” said Andren.

Despite low pressure, Andren said water was never completely shut off to the city and the other towns using the lines. He said water was being pumped by using a firetruck, hoses and a hydrant.

“It’s a little non-standard but it’s worked out really well for us,” said Andren.

The water coming through is not safe to drink since it had been coming from an unconventional source.

While software engineers got the other pump repaired, Andren said it will take 48 hours of clean testing before the water will be deemed safe to drink again.

The disruptions and no drinking orders have caused headaches for homeowners and businesses. Many stores closed on Thursday.

Billy and Brenda McClendon run a nursery in McAlester and said this is prime time for their business with Mother’s Day coming up.

“City actually called me this morning asking me if I could conserve water,” said Billy. “They’d really appreciate it because we do use a lot of water.”

The McClendon’s said they didn’t worry too much on Thursday because of the cloudy and rainy weather. Friday could be a different story.

“We’re just gonna play it by ear, day-by-day,” said Billy. “Tomorrow’s supposed to be 90 degrees. If it reaches 90, we’re going to have to use a little bit of water.”

There are three different filling stations around McAlester for people in the area who need to get clean water.

McAlester Public Schools will be in distance learning on Friday because of the water issues.