DRUMRIGHT — A lightning strike during severe storms on April 1 temporarily disrupted water service for customers of the City of Drumright, according to City Manager Shawn Gibson. In an abundance of caution city offi cials notifi ed customers of a voluntary boil advisory and encouraged conservation measures which remained in place through the weekend.
This past Monday on April 6 Gibson confi rmed that the system had returned to normal operations and that all advisories were lifted following successful Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) testing.
The disruption was discovered early on April 2 when water levels in the city’s tower began to fall. Gibson said a lightning strike disabled key systems at the water treatment plant.
“It took out all of our electronic drives that control the pumps,” Gibson said. “That essentially shut the plant down.”
As a result, the city issued a water service advisory warning of low pressure and possible interruptions which were soon followed by water usage restrictions to preserve supply. During the advisory residents as well as other utility customers such as those in Shamrock were asked to limit use to essential needs while crews worked to stabilize the system. The city had also issued a voluntary boil water advisory despite no confi rmed contamination.
“We didn’t have any evidence of backfl ow or contamination but we were aware there could be a potential risk so we wanted to take any necessary precautions to keep individuals safe,” Gibson said.
Water tower levels had a signifi cant drop, however, crews responded quickly bringing in a generator that was connected manually to restore pumping. Gibson said by the following day the system had rebounded to above normal levels.
“We were on it fast. As soon as we knew what it was, we started making plans to do what we needed to do,” Gibson said.
Replacement parts were delivered and installed the following night — allowing the plant to resume normal operations. However, the boil advisory remained in place through the weekend while required water quality tests were completed.
Gibson confirmed on Monday two water samples had been tested and passed as safe which led to the advisory being lifted.
“We got two safe tests back this morning, and as soon as I had that, I immediately got it put out,” Gibson said.
No widespread contamination was reported during the incident, and while some areas experienced low pressure and a brief halt in service the issue was resolved quickly, according to Gibson.
While Gibson noted associated costs were expected to be significant exact amounts were not available.
“I’m sure it’ll be expensive,” he said.
He added that the expenses will be sent on to the city’s insurance provider and will have to be assessed from there.