Water back on in Healdton after main line breaks Friday

Thanks to a lot of hard work from people living in Healdton and the “sisterhood” among southern Oklahoma communities, a major water line break was repaired in less than a day Friday.
City Manager Sherrie Adams said Saturday the break in the 12-inch main line coming from the city’s water plant was first noticed by a city worker who experienced air in his water line early Friday morning.
“He just knew something was wrong,” Adams said.
When the worker got to the treatment plant, he found water shooting up about 40 feet in the air from the break at about 3:30 a.m. Friday.
Thanks to some parts loaned to Healdton by the City of Ardmore, work crews were able to repair the line around 5:30 p.m. Friday, Adams said.
“The surrounding towns are really good sisters,” she said. “If we don’t have a particular part, they give us one and we just order one later and return it to them.”
The city had to flush some water lines, because by the time the line was repaired, practically all of the water remaining in the city’s water lines had been drained, she said. However, everyone in the community had full water service restored by late Friday night, she said.
“Those lines are built on sand rock, and with the change in seasons, we had some shifting in the ground,” Adams said.
“The ground just kind of shifted upward and finally the joint (in the line) couldn’t take it.”
Many of the town’s resident were just about out of water when the main line was finally repaired.
“It’s been quite an adventure (but) everything is going and we’re back on line,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ve got this fixed to where it will never happen again.”
Sheila J. Robinson, 221-6536
sheila.robinson@ardmoreite.com