Broken Arrow Lifts Mandatory Water Rationing Order; Voluntary Order In Place

The City of Broken Arrow has lifted its mandatory rationing order and put in place voluntary rationing after a water main break early Thursday.

A 24-inch pipe broke and flooded the intersection near Lynn Lane and 71st Street to the point the street had to be closed.

Empty pools, splash pads and vacant car washes aren't what you'd expect to see on a hot summer day in Oklahoma.

But that was the case in Broken Arrow following the water main break.

7/11/2013 Related Story: Broken Arrow Declares Emergency Due To Broken Water Main

Crews were hard at work Thursday afternoon digging up the soil they said was the cause of the break.

"This is one we found very quickly, isolated very quickly," BA assistant city manager Norman Stephens said.

Stephens said the city was forced to issue the rationing order after the water level in the nearby tanks fell dangerously low.

"In order for our citizens to do their daily functions of bathing, cooking, cleaning inside their house," he said.

"It's a not hot day out, we just were just wanting to come take a swim," he said. "You look at it and the pool's full. It's ready to go."

This isn't Broken Arrow's first run in with water issues this summer- last month the city issued a boil order following a 36-inch water main break.

Residents in Rogers County Rural Water Districts 7 and 9 were asked to conserve water after a similar break, and in Pittsburg County, some residents are still without water following a leak.

"We can sympathize with Broken Arrow," City of Tulsa spokesman Bob Bledsoe said.

"Late July and August, we tend to have two to three times more breaks during that period than we do during the spring and fall," Bledsoe said.

Treason for the spike can be attributed to an increase in water demand, the age of the pipe, and as was the case in Broken Arrow, the expansion and contraction of the soil around the pipe, Bledsoe said.

"We understand the frustration," Norman said. "We're frustrated. But it's something that we're prepared for."

Tulsa officials said they've seen very few breaks so far.

The last two years Tulsa's had more than 1,200, and at this point, it's just over 400.