A major water line break has forced the Town of Hennessey to shut down its water system while crews work to make emergency repairs.
At about 11 a.m. Tuesday, a construction contractor working for Light Source Communications was boring under the highway to install a fiber-optic cable running from Tulsa to Amarillo when crews struck a large water line near the intersection of Highways 81 and 51 in Hennessey.
The leak was significant enough that it began draining the town’s water towers. Officials made the decision to shut down the water system, both to conserve the remaining water supply and allow crews to excavate and repair the damaged line.
The outage has affected the entire community. Hennessey Public Schools released students early, and several local restaurants and businesses have been forced to close because they do not have water.
Hennessey Water Department crews spent considerable time locating the exact location of the break. Before excavation could begin, crews also had to wait for utility locators to mark other underground lines in the area.
Adding to the difficulty, the damaged water line is located inside a protective casing beneath the highway, making the repair more complicated.
The Town of Hennessey has called in Luckinbill Construction of Enid to assist with the repair. The commercial utility contractor has the specialized equipment needed to deal with the damaged line and casing.
As of Tuesday afternoon, officials estimate the water outage could continue into late afternoon or early evening.
All About Hennessey is on scene and monitoring the situation. We will update this story as new information becomes available.
Photos by AAH Jack Quirk
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