Sayre residents woke up Christmas morning to the harsh reality of a widespread water outage, triggered by a catastrophic break in a 12-inch municipal transmission line during the early morning hours. City crews, county partners, contractors, and neighboring communities worked through Christmas Day and the following week to locate the break, stabilize the system, restore pressure across the city, and complete state-required safety testing. The following timeline reflects the full sequence of response, repairs, testing, and recovery — ending with the lifting of the precautionary boil order after both required water test sets passed.
-2:30 A.M. — INITIAL SYSTEM ALARMS Low-pressure alarms were triggered at the city’s pump station, indicating a sudden and significant loss of water volume in the transmission system. Crews and police units mobilized immediately and began searching in heavy fog and darkness.
-3:00–3:30 A.M. — LEAK LOCATION IDENTIFIED
No flooding was visible inside town, leading responders to search rural and off-road locations. The break was eventually located along a 12-inch transmission line. The failure was severe — the top of the pipe had blown out, rapidly draining towers and mains.
-EARLY MORNING — ISOLATION ATTEMPTS Crews attempted to isolate the damaged section and continue service through a 10-inch line. Multiple valves in the area were aged and would not fully seal. Three pumps were used in efforts to stabilize pressure while isolation continued.
-4:00–4:30 A.M. — PUMP STATION SHUTDOWN
With towers continuing to drain and the break actively discharging, the decision was made to shut down the pump station for safety and stabilization. Some areas retained temporary water due to storage, while others dropped to zero pressure.
-CHRISTMAS DAY — EXCAVATION CHALLENGES The break site was buried beneath large quantities of construction debris including concrete, metal, and rebar. Material repeatedly collapsed back toward the excavation, slowing work and creating safety hazards.
-CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON — COUNTY ASSISTANCE ARRIVES Beckham County provided a trackhoe and operator to remove debris safely. Over the course of the effort, approximately 29 dump-truck loads of debris were hauled out of the site.
-CHRISTMAS EVENING — FIRST REPAIR ATTEMPT Crews installed a large clamp (“Band-Aid” style) around the damaged section of pipe. As torque was applied, the weakened pipe split further, requiring deeper excavation and additional repair work.
-LATER THAT NIGHT — PIPE REPLACEMENT A 9-foot section of 12-inch pipe was removed and replaced. Upon repressurizing, adjoining aging pipe failed, requiring replacement of a longer section.
-COMMUNITY SUPPORT MOBILIZES Neighboring cities provided pumps and materials. The City of Cheyenne supplied a full stick of compatible pipe. Residents and local businesses brought food, water, and supplies to the site as crews continued working through the night.
-FINAL REPAIR — EXTENDED PIPE SECTION INSTALLED
Approximately 12 feet of transmission pipe were ultimately replaced. Once stable, the city began carefully rebuilding pressure across mains and towers.
-5:00 P.M. FRIDAY — MINI-MUM PRESSURE RESTORED System pressure exceeded the DEQ threshold of 25 PSI, beginning the 72-hour monitoring window required under precautionary boil advisory protocol.
-WEEKEND — SYSTEM FLUSHING & RESIDUAL
TESTING
Crews flushed hydrants, released trapped air, and verified chlorine residual levels throughout the city. Residuals remained above minimum safety standards.
-FOLLOWING WEEK — FIRST & SECOND LAB TESTS SUBMITTED
Multiple samples were collected across the system and transported to the state laboratory in Lawton. A second round of samples was submitted as required by DEQ guidelines for systems that had lost pressure.
-FINAL STATUS — BOIL ORDER LIFTED AFTER PASSING TESTS Both sets of water samples passed state laboratory testing. The precautionary boil order has now been officially lifted, and the system has returned to normal operation.
