In the early hours of Christmas morning, around 3 a.m., the source of the major water leak was discovered. The conditions were dark, foggy, and extremely dangerous. The ground was unstable, with large chunks of concrete, twisted rebar, jagged metal — and even snakes wintering deep in the rock cavities.
Despite all of this, our crews pushed forward. Progress was slow as the ground and concrete continued to shift and migrate back toward the excavation site. Our employees worked through river-bottom mud and water, exhaustion, and hazardous terrain — and they never gave up.
Three separate repair attempts were made on the 12-inch transmission line. The third was finally successful, using a new 12-foot section of pipe secured with mega restraints. This was not a routine line repair; it was the kind of job that cannot be finished in just a few hours.
I could not be more proud of our Water Department employees who came together to restore the broken line. Teamwork made this repair possible. I am also grateful to our Street Department crews, who removed concrete and debris from the site. In total, 65 dumptruck loads of debris were hauled away, and 170 loads of clean backfill material were brought in to stabilize and refill the excavation.
I want to thank Beckham County District #1, who responded on Christmas Day when our backhoe could not safely reach the heavier material. Carl Don Campbell and his crew brought in their excavator and provided critical support.
Thank you to the City of Elk City for providing an additional water pump.
Thank you to the City of Cheyenne for donating a full joint of pipe.
Thank you to Troy Jones Rental for supplying a light tower on Christmas Day.
Thank you to First Response Café for bringing lunch to our crews.
Thank you to North Fork Electric for distributing bottled water to our community.
And most of all — thank you to our citizens. Your phone calls, text messages, offers of equipment, manpower, food, and encouragement meant everything to the people working on this repair.
Our community came together in a true moment of need. What we witnessed was the Oklahoma Standard at its very best, right here in Sayre, Oklahoma.
Thank you, Sayre. — Ted Lawson, Sayre City Manager
