El Reno city officials said the leak that caused water problems throughout town has been found. The news came Thursday morning and crews were working to make repairs. Officials said the leak was found in the 800 block of South Jensen Road on private property.

The search for the suspected broken water main, which led to major water issues throughout the City of El Reno, had been ongoing since Wednesday morning. 

City crews at approximately 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, located the leak in the 800 block of South Jensen Road. Crews described the area surrounding the leak as a “swamp” due to the significant amount of water that had accumulated.

The leak was found in a private waterline on privately-owned property and was not the result of a failure of the City of El Reno’s water system.

A private fire hydrant on the property was not visible from the roadway, which contributed to the difficulty crews experienced in identifying the property and locating the source of the significant water loss.

Water service to the property was shut off, and crews immediately observed an increase in pressure at the city’s lake water tower.

Approximately 3 million gallons of water are estimated to have been lost as a result of the leak.

Although the source of the water loss has been isolated, it will take time for pressure to rebuild throughout the system and for normal water service to be restored. Residents and businesses in affected areas may continue to experience low water pressure as the system recovers.

Outside watering is prohibited at this time. The city also asks residents and businesses to use water responsibly inside homes and businesses while water tower levels and system pressure recover.

Free bottled water will be available to the public Thursday afternoon at The Filling Station, 120 S. Choctaw Ave. Additional information regarding distribution times will be shared as it becomes available.

The City of El Reno appreciates the patience and cooperation of residents and businesses as the water system recovers. Additional updates will be provided as conditions improve.

The water problems led to school and business closings, both in El Reno as well as Union City, which buys water from El Reno. Water pressure throughout much of the community was impacted although only those homes and businesses south of I-40 and west of U.S. 81 were totally cut off from water service for part of Wednesday. 

Interim City Manager Ken Brown and School Superintendent Matt Goucher fielded questions from local and Oklahoma City news media at noon on Wednesday.

“We were notified about 1 o’clock this morning (Wednesday) that our water towers were low,” Brown said. “Crews went out and started looking into it and about 4 o’clock we discovered that the tower at the lake or what we refer to as the West Tower was at about a 10-foot level. That is extremely low,” said Brown.

The isolated area was determined after morning searches. He said the cause for the water main leak will be determined when it’s found but speculated it was due to dry shifting ground caused by the prolonged drought.

“We started looking into all the general areas and continually monitoring (towers) and what’s going on with that. We had crews out and our drone operators have been flying. Some of your news helicopters have flown and kind of give us an update on what they're seeing.

“In the last hour or so, we believe we have isolated the area in which it (leak) is coming from,” said Brown.

The search was aided Wednesday afternoon by helicopters from Homeland Security, which took members of the El Reno Police Department on an aerial hunt, said El Reno Public Information Manager Lyndsay Bayne. 

The search had to be suspended Wednesday night. Brown said a number of city workers had been going non-stop without sleep and the lack of light made the search all but impossible. 

Searches on the ground included fire hydrant testing along Jensen Road conducted by El Reno Fire Chief Jason Duff, his staff, city workers and representatives from Wright Water.

Those tests showed no pressure or spurting water mixed with air pockets depending on the location of the hydrants.

The city has two water towers, one at the lake and the other at the corner of Highway 66 and Elm Street, which is the East Tower. The towers and the city’s water well sites and wastewater treatment plant are operated by Wright Water, which initially notified city leaders of the situation.

There’s also a million gallons in a ground water storage tank south of I-40. That was built in the 1980s and went unused for several years before being brought back online. 

The city also provides water to the Heaston community as well as the City of Union City and its some 1,800 residents. Water to both areas was cut off according to Bayne. 

Normally the lake tower, which at capacity holds 750,000 gallons of water, stands at 36 feet deep, Brown said. The level was down to 10 feet deep, or two-thirds lost capacity, before the leak area was isolated.

Brown said the water level in the lake tower had increased to 15 feet after the service was cut off to the isolated area. He said the water service cutoffs could last from just a few hours up to days.

“Until we repair it. As soon as we’re able to isolate it and make repairs, then we’ll open everything else back up,” said Brown.

The downtown tower remains full at its 500,000-gallon capacity.

Bayne said the water to replenish the lake tower level is coming from the city’s water wells. Production at the site has been increased.

The city is asking all outside water usage supplied by the city to stop until the leak is located. Inside water consumption should be limited when possible.

“We continue to work as hard as we can. We have crews out driving every roadway, walking all areas and along creek lines looking for this break or whatever it may be.

“I want to assure everyone we’re doing everything we can and we’ll get it (water) back on as soon as we can,” said Brown.

Brown said relief agencies like the Red Cross are ready to provide bottled water to residents in need.

Discovery Church of El Reno, located within the cutoff area on South Country Club Road, started handing out 4,000 bottles of water Wednesday.

“There was a large line,” said Bayne, who also delivered water to those residents in need.

Bayne was actually on vacation, but reported for duty when the water crisis hit.