Several Residents At Tulsa Apartment Without Water For Over 24 Hours

Dozens of people living at a Tulsa apartment complex have been without water or have had low water pressure for more than 24 hours.

Residents at The Arden Overlook said they are frustrated.

18-year-old Dakota Kirby said when he got home from school Monday, his grandma told him they didn’t have water; 30 hours later he still hasn't seen a drop.

All Dakota wants to do is take a shower. "Nobody wants to go out and be ostracized for the way the smell,” said Dakota.

He can't get a glass of water, flush toilets, wash dishes, until he goes downstairs with a bucket and dips what little water the people below him, have in their bathtub.

"You're talking about people's health and livelihood. This is not acceptable,” said Matthew Morris.

Matthew Morris, his wife and three daughters have very low water pressure.

“We haven't had showers in two days. Sorry, I know that's gross. We can hit the hot spots with a wash rag. But I mean come on, that's disgusting,” said Matthew. “Their solution to showers was to go use the model apartment with at least 50 people. That is a more public hazard than what we're dealing with now."

The property manager of The Arden Overlook apartments said in a phone conversation that they are aware of the issue, have a plumber on standby and are waiting on OKIE811 to come out and mark the utilities. Then, they can dig and see what's happening with the water lines. She said they need one more line to be marked.

She confirmed three buildings are affected and doesn't know the cause, but said they've been updating residents with texts and emails.

But Dakota said he's been hung up on, ignored and is past the point of frustration.

"Frankly I think we would have been better just starting the call with you guys,” said Dakota.

Executive Director of OKIE811 said when an emergency locate request is called into the 811 center, they try to request as much time as possible to get the locators out so they’re able to locate the lines; at a minimum they ask for 2-4 hours to respond.

She said if it’s dire and they must dig now they are told to dig with care. The executive director said they ask the reporting party if this is an emergency meaning it’s a threat to life, health, or property, and if the answer is 'yes,' they process the ticket and don’t question it.

If it doesn't come in as an emergency, it'll usually takes three business days.

Click here for more information on OKIE811.