Yesterday, Monday, October 23 the Hennessey water department discovered a water leak behind the water treatment plant south of town. In order to not have to shut the water off during business hours to make it convenient for our business and residents, they started work on the repair at about 10 p.m. Shortly after the digging began they realized that the sandy soil was quicksand-like and decided to move to a safer area to the south and install an isolation valve in the large water pipe.
At about midnight water department employees Alyssa Kubat and Kyle Watkins got trapped in the sand while working in the new location. The Hennessey Fire Department worked for almost three hours to free the two workers. Alyssa and Kyle were transported to an Enid hospital by Life EMS, Alyssa was checked out and released but they were holding Kyle for 24 hours for observation.
At about 3 a.m. Tillman contacted Luckinbill, a large utility contractor from Enid to finish the repair with equipment that could safely work in these conditions.
When it appeared that the water shutdown was likely Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman contacted Hennessey Schools Superintendent Jason Sternberger at 4 a.m. and he decided to cancel school for the day just in case they lost water.
All of the repairs were completed at about 8:30 a.m. and the water was brought back up to full pressure.
