Claremore Daily Progress

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August 4, 2012

RWD-4 water emergency reinstated after pump fails

Staff Reports Claremore Progress

OOLOGAH — Less than an hour after officials of Rogers County Water District No. 4 lifted a water emergency, the emergency was reinstated after a replacement pump failed.

Office Manager Julie Hendrix said the district did not have another pump in stock, and it would take time to determine how to proceed next.

Meanwhile, Hendrix said it is imperative that district residents--including Oologah, Talala and much of Northwest Rogers County--resume actions to eliminate all unnecessary use of water. She said compliance with emergency measures earlier today had been excellent.

The original emergency was declared this morning after one of two pumps bringing water from Lake Oologah to the water treatment plant failed. Officials had estimated that replacing it with another pump kept in inventory would take until 6 p.m., but the job was completed about two hours early.

However, the replacement pump failed shortly before 4:30 p.m. and the emergency was reinstated. That again left the plant able to produce only 1,000 gallons a minute, while normal usage for a summer day is 1,200 gpm--a deficit of 12,000 gallons per hour.

Without serious conservation efforts, officials said, the district's water pressure would drop close to zero in a matter of hours.

Northwest Rogers County Fire Chief David Puckett said the department had made alternate arrangements for water should a major fire occur. That would include drawing directly from the lakes, from ponds and from other sources not dependent on RWD 4 supplies.

The district asked that citizens stay away from the water plant due to the large number of personnel and pieces of heavy equipment involved in making repairs.

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