Report: Number Of City Of Tulsa Water Line Breaks Lower Than Normal

It seems like every day for last couple of weeks the City of Tulsa's water department has been busy fixing broken water lines. The breaks have cut off water to homes and businesses, flooded streets and some cases, stranded cars. 

The Journal Record reports Tulsa has actually had a lot fewer breaks than normal. 

The newspaper looked at city records for June, July and August and they showed the city is below the five year average for water line breaks. In June and July, there were 35 and 55 breaks respectively compared to the normal numbers of 98 and 161. August is the worst months for breaks, according to the city - but even so in August - Tulsa had just under 160, while the average is 170. 

The reasons for the uptick in breaks in August is simple according to the City of Tulsa, it was hotter outside and people were using more water. They not only point to increased water pressure, but also the older pipes. 

The Journal Records says there are 2,300 miles of water lines in Tulsa - in other words - the same distance from Tulsa to the Central American country of Honduras. 

The newspaper says Tulsa has committed $80 million to replace old pipes over the next five years. Out of all that pipe, city officials say there are some water lines that are 100 years old and many of the city's water lines date back to the 1950's.