City water pump back in service; DEQ 'Do Not Use' remains in effect

Aug 04, 2023

and Adrian O’Hanlon III | Editors

A water pump at the McAlester Water Treatment Plant is back in service — but a "Do Not Use’ warning for city of McAlester water customers remains in effect.

Both the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the city of McAlester said the "Do Not Use" warning was still in effect as of Friday, May 5.

It includes McAlester Public Works water customers in the city, as well as Pittsburg County Rural Water Districts 5, 6, 7, 9 and 16.

That means the water should not be used for human consumption, including drinking, food and baby formula preparation, ice-making, toothbrushing or anything else that would cause the water to be ingested.

It is a step above a mandatory boil order. The DEQ is saying the water should not be used for human consumption — period — until the "Do Not Use" warning is lifted.

DEQ Director Communication Erin Hatfield said the Do Not Use order will remain in place until the city meets several benchmarks, including having "at least two days of safe bacteriological samples results."

McAlester City Manager David Andren praised the efforts of workers at the water treatment plant, electrical contractors, the McAlester/Pittsburg County Office of Emergency Management and others who’ve worked long hours to address the water issues.

Asked Friday what he would say to customers of McAlester water, both in the city and the rural water districts, Andren said "We are working to get your trust back in our water system.

"We have faith in it," he said. "We owe it to you to get your trust back."

What happened?

Video and photos Andren showed at a Thursday emergency meeting show water gushing upward from a pump after the incident.

"It basically pushed the entire thing which weighs every bit of 2,500 pounds about 18 inches, so it had considerable force behind it," Andren said.

A backflow valve failed and broke off, leaving crews without any pressure to close the valve and allowing water from the community to flow back into the plant.

The force from the incident shattered the concrete cradle holding the pump in place and propelled out eight bolts that were stripped of their threads.

Timeline

Andren told councilors during Thursday's emergency meeting that the water plant experienced a catastrophic event on High Pressure Service Pump #4 around 9:30 p.m. May 2.

"It is beyond words what happened out there," Andren said Thursday.

Inframark crews immediately worked to shut off all valves and stop production to clear wells.

City staff received notification by 10 p.m. that night as water pressures dropped throughout the system and they were notified within 30 minutes that a pump had "blown up."

Andren showed video he took at the water plant with water spewing from the pump and the shop flooded.

He said Inframark and city staff worked between 11 p.m. and 12:45 a.m. to restore water by bringing HPS #2 online.

"Those efforts failed," Andren said.

Crews then isolated an electrical problem in the MCC, which sends signals to each of the three pumps.

The third pump was in Oklahoma City receiving regular maintenance.

McAlester/Pittsburg County Emergency Management received notification of the problem at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Two water towers were at 25% capacity at that time, while two others were above 80% capacity.

"We estimated that the amount of water in the system would get the city through mid-morning before pressures dropped below 25 psi," Andren said, referring to the level that requires a voluntary boil notice.

Andren said he called McAlester Regional Health Center and McAlester Public Schools at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday about the problem.

He said crews spent more than 30 hours troubleshooting the electrical problem with the manufacturer and other industrial engineers.

Andren said the hardware on the MCC was fine, and engineers believed it was a software problem.

"And while all that was happening, the Emergency Operations Center in conjunction with the city and the city's fire department implemented a plan B to simply get water back into the system," Andren said Thursday.

How did the city keep water flowing?

Crews manufactured a flange that allowed them to attach hoses to a fire truck that continued water flowing to the city after the incident.

"The plan that we implemented has saved us," Andren said Thursday. "We have not been completely without water throughout our system throughout this entire time."

Andren said officials spoke with DEQ through the entire process to get advice and approval on the fixes.

City crews manufactured a flange on the clear well to allow water to flow through a sanitized hose into a fire truck and then to a fire hydrant. He said the emergency system is fully sanitized, but the city is still under the DEQ's order against consuming the water due to the use of non-standard equipment.

"That's what's keeping the city alive right now," Andren said Thursday.

He said the plan allowed the city to pump 1,300 gallons per minute at 100 psi into the system.

McAlester's standard pressure is 3,500 gallons per minute at 125-135 psi.

Andren said that allowed citizens and water customers water to at least wash their hands.

"But this is not a permanent fix," Andren said Thursday.

What's next?

Andren said that an individual contractor determined Thursday evening that software was the main issue.

"The software problem was the problem," Andren said. "They found it."

That allowed the city to get the pump back online, drop the use of non-standard equipment, and start filling the system at a higher rate.

Although the water was treated, the DEQ kept the "Do Not Use" order in place because of the emergency use of nonstandard equipment.

Andren said the city must still meet a number of milestones before the DEQ lifts the "Do Not Use" order.

Those include reaching and maintaining a stable level of chlorine throughout all the city's water lines, Andren said.

The city must also have two successful tests taken at least 24 hours apart.

Hatfield sent the News-Capital a statement saying after the city of McAlester had the high pressure water pumps back in service and the fire engine disconnected it still must meet more thresholds before the "Do Not Use" order is lifted.

They include restoring water pressure, flushing the system, maintaining adequate chlorine levels and having at least two days of safe bacteriological samples results.

The McAlester News-Capital will provide updates online as they become available.

Contact James Beaty at [email protected] or Adrian O’Hanlon III at [email protected]

The McAlester News-Capital will provide live updates online as they become available.

Managing editor

James Beaty is managing editor at the McAlester News-Capital

Editor

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