City Of Henryetta Plagued By Daily Water Line Breaks

A water line break caused schools to close early Monday in Henryetta. 

While the water has been restored, the mayor said this is something they are seeing all the time. 

Henryetta mayor Jennifer Munholland said there has been one to three water line breaks every day since January. 

The break Monday was near a construction site off Highway 75. 

“They isolated it pretty quick. It was about 2,000 gallons a minute, we did have another leak simultaneously that caused an issue, they got them both under control pretty fast," Munholland said. 

Munholland said water was restored after about an hour, but most of the city was affected, including the schools. 

Munholland said they only have about two workers in the water department, and they are working around the clock. 

“They have been working day in and day out, they are miracle workers. I don’t even know how they do it," she said. 

Munholland said one of the main problems is how old the lines are. She said some of them are from 1920, and it's hard to get the money to replace them all. 

“The money to do that, some of the lines, just to run one for a few blocks is $300,000, city our size, just don’t have that money," Munholland said. 

Munholland said the city has applied for grants in the past or borrowed lines from nearby towns. She said they are work hard to fix every line that breaks. 

“We’re just trying to work the best we can with what we have," she said. 

Munholland said if you see a water line break, you need to call the Henryetta Police Department at (918) 652-3106. 

She said they do have job openings in the water and sewer departments, and if interested, contact the City of Henryetta.