Mandatory Outdoor Watering Ban Issued

Wednesday, August 29th 2007, 3:24 pm

By: News On 6

Broken Arrow residents caught watering their lawn may be in for a big fine. Broken Arrow City Manager Jim Twombly has declared an emergency due to a break in a line that provides water to the city. Broken Arrow residents must eliminate all outdoor watering immediately, customers are also asked to conserve water used indoors. Anyone caught violating the ban could face a fine up to $500. The ban applies to all City of Broken Arrow water customers, including businesses and homeowners with automatic irrigation systems.

A leak in a 36-inch water line that provides Broken Arrow with water from Pryor was discovered Tuesday. The city must shutoff the water supply to fix the problem. It should take a half day to de-water the line and another day or two for crews to make the necessary repairs.

Work on the line was to begin Thursday morning, but it has been put off until Friday morning to allow the cityâ€™s water reserves to build up to a higher level. Broken Arrow will rely completely on those reserves for its water supply during the repair.