Tuesday, August 25, at about 11 a.m., a construction contractor crew working for Light Source Communications was boring under the highway to install a fiber-optic cable running from Tulsa to Amarillo when they struck a large water line near the intersection of Highways 81 and 51 in Hennessey.
The major water line break forced the Town of Hennessey to shut down its entire water system while crews worked to make emergency repairs.
Hennessey Town Administrator Tiffany Rowen said the leak was significant enough that it began rapidly draining the town’s water towers. Rowen and Public Works Director Alyssa Kubat 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 affected the entire community. Hennessey Public Schools released students early, and several local restaurants and businesses were forced to close because they did not have water.
Hennessey Water Department crews spent considerable time locating the exact location of the break. Before excavation could begin, they had to wait for utility locators to mark other underground lines in the area.
Adding to the difficulty, the damaged water line was located inside a protective casing beneath the highway, making the repair much more complicated.
At about noon, Kubat called in Luckinbill Construction of Enid to assist with the repair. The commercial utility contractor has the specialized equipment needed to handle a damaged line and casing of this size.
The full Luckinbill crew arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and installed a trench box so workers could safely enter the deep excavation. Removing the casing to expose the damaged pipe was difficult and time-consuming, but crews completed the repair at about 7 p.m.
Water pressure began returning to normal throughout Hennessey at about 8 p.m., roughly eight hours after the emergency began.
The repair required dozens of workers alongside the Hennessey Public Works crew, who worked throughout the afternoon and evening to safely complete a difficult repair and restore water service to the community.
Photos by AAH Jack Quirk
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