City Of Tulsa Crews Repairing 120 Water Line Breaks, Ask People To Conserve Water

Update: The city said that although they are asking Tulsans to conserve water, the Department of Environment Quality will not issue a boil order for the city.

Everyone who gets water from Tulsa is being asked to conserve water while crews and emergency contractors work to repair 120 water line breaks.

The city said more people are home right now and they're using more water than normal plus many are letting their faucets drip in addition to all the water line breaks, and the city said it's putting a big strain on the water supply. 

The city is asking people to limit using dishwashers, washing machines, and anything that uses a large amount of water at one time.

Josh Bilby is Tulsa's Water Distribution Division Manager and said state regulations require a certain level of water in storage tanks and dropping below that could cause issues with public safety and first responders. 

“That’s the main purpose of our reserves--to have fire protection available for the fire department if they have a fire and they are in need of it. It’s our responsibility to have the water there that they need to put the fire out to keep the citizens of Tulsa safe," said Bilby.

This includes cities that purchase water from Tulsa, which includes Rogers County, Creek County, Sapulpa, Jenks, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Turley, Hectorville, Sperry, Sand Springs, Wagoner County, and Skiatook also need to conserve. 

Tulsa Water Department estimated around 600 homes and nine businesses don't have water right now.