Water Main Break Floods Midtown Tulsa Neighborhood

By Ashli Sims, The News On 6

TULSA, OK --  A water line break drowned a Midtown Tulsa neighborhood in acres of water Monday afternoon.

The lake flooded the street, dozens of yards, and swamped several homes. Tulsa utility crews shut the water off, but it left more than mud in its wake.

The water is gone, but the road was still closed Monday night. The burst line buckled the road and washed away a chunk of one man's driveway.

The break happened near 4th and Yale just before 5 p.m. Monday.

"I was in shock when I came outside. I thought there was a dead body on the floor by the way she screamed," Rachel said.

Rachel and her roommates walked out on their front porch to see they suddenly had lakefront property.

"I had to look back again cause I just didn't think our house would be underwater," Bri said.

Jim Stroud didn't do a double take, but he did feel a sense of déja vù.

"I figured a water line busted like before," Stroud said.  "You can see where it knocked my fence open there and it comes through there. Luckily we got some drains out here in the street where it can get rid of some of the water."

The water didn't just swallow his yard, but seeped into his garage. Four inches covered the floor and gushed out from beneath the door.

"The last time I sucked it up and I didn't complain to anybody down at the city or anything. I just took care of it myself," he said. "I may not do that this time."

From their front porch perch, the girls didn't have any water damage but it was close enough to be a concern.

"You can hear it under the house in the back bedroom but it's not in the house yet."

After about two hours, city crews shut the water off. As the lake receded, it left a gaping hole and a buckled road in its muddy wake.

A neighbor said that same line broke back in December.  News On 6 reporter Ashli Sims called the city to find out what caused the break, but they did not return the call by deadline.