Parts of Oak Ridge found their taps sputtering or silent on Saturday as city crews scrambled to deal with a possible major water line break near Tulsa Road. Public Works teams on the ground are isolating the problem section of pipe and working to bring pressure back up while the cause of the failure is still under investigation.
City officials told WVLT that crews were assessing a break near Tulsa Road and that “work is underway to determine the cause and restore service as quickly as possible.” The station reported that no additional details had been released at the time.
The city’s Public Works department, which operates roughly 219 miles of water mains and serves an average of about 4.15 million gallons a day, is asking residents with outages or very low pressure to call operations at 865-425-1875. The main city line is 865-425-3400, and after-hours dispatch is 865-425-4399. For background on the system and periodic updates, see the City of Oak Ridge Public Works page.
Precautions residents should take
When pressure drops in a water system, contaminants can sometimes slip into the lines, which is why utilities often issue precautionary boil-water advisories after main breaks. That is one of the most common triggers, according to the EPA. Systems typically repair, disinfect, and test the affected mains before lifting any advisory. If a boil order is issued, the CDC recommends bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute, or three minutes at high elevations, before using it for drinking or food preparation, per CDC guidance.
What to expect and how to report problems
Fixing a break usually means crews have to close valves to isolate the damaged section, dig down to expose the pipe, make repairs, then flush and test the line. That whole process can take several hours, depending on how bad the damage is. If your taps are still dry or you are seeing very low pressure after the city says repairs are complete, call Public Works at 865-425-1875 or the city’s main number at 865-425-3400 to report it. We will update this story when the city posts a system-status notice or issues any precautionary guidance.
