Voluntary Water Conservation Continues In Broken Arrow

The City of Broken Arrow said they are still asking residents to voluntarily conserve their water.

Saturday they said the rising heat and a high concentration of algae in the Verdigris River are affecting production at the new water treatment plant. They said the water being pulled into the water treatment plant was clogging the filters faster than technicians could clean them out.

8/23/2014 Related Story: Broken Arrow Residents Asked To Curb Water Usage Due To Algae Build Up

“Because of the algae problem, the plant is pumping treated water at a reduced capacity. Essentially, the plant is sending less treated water into the City for customers to use. This situation is compounded by increased demand due to the weather,” a news release said.

Sunday, city leaders said the voluntary conservation will remain in effect and that residents' cooperation has been “immensely helpful.”

“It's allowing water treatment plant staff to focus on cleaning the membrane filters of algae,” a news release said.

The city is looking into why there's a high concentration of algae in the river. The city also assures residents it will not run out of treated water and said the water is safe to drink.