City Faces More Water Problems

Monday, July 30th 2007, 8:38 pm

By: News On 6

Even with all the rain weâ€™ve had, one Green County townâ€™s water reserves are low. News On 6 anchor Omar Villafranca reports Bartlesville residents are being asked to conserve water after a problem at the water treatment plant slows production.

Just weeks after heavy rain flooded Bartlesville, the city wants residents to conserve water. The city manager says three pumps at the cityâ€™s water treatment plant stopped working. Workers donâ€™t know what caused the shutdown.

â€œThe water treatment plant staff took the pumps apart to try and discover what in the world is going on here, and they found nothing, mechanically that is. There is no rag, or rock or something hung in there. They couldn't find anything wrong,â€ said Bartlesville city manager Ed Gordon.

Gordon says pump experts are flying down this week to inspect the pumps. On a regular day, the plant cleans anywhere from 12 to 17 million gallons of water. That amount fell when the pumps stopped working.

In the meantime, city officials are asking residents to conserve water. Theyâ€™re asking people to avoid washing their cars and watering their yard or from doing any activity that will use up large amounts of water.

Gordon says the residents donâ€™t have to change anything in their daily routine.

â€œI think for every day normal household use, for you to take a shower and wash your dishes and normal hygiene, personal hygiene, go about your personal business,â€ he said.

Gordon stressed that the water quality was never in question. He also said he doesn't know how long it will take to fix the pumps since the city doesn't know exactly what the problem was.

Watch the video: Bartlesville Residents Asked To Conserve Water