By John W. Feary, Claremore City Manager

You may have noticed signs around town about assessments underway for citywide evaluation of our water system.  The project started last February, is 70 percent complete and we anticipate it will wrap up this fall.

This comprehensive assessment of our water distribution system is important because it will serve as the foundation for improvements to our water infrastructure.  The Public Works Department is testing every fire hydrant and water valve in the system to analyze its condition and the need for repair or replacement. Additionally, several thousand linear feet of lines are being flushed, hydrants are being inspected and serviced, and the system is being properly mapped.

Operating fire hydrants and valves that have not been activated in a while can cause possible corrosion deposits and mineral scale in some of the waterlines to be stirred up. There have been minimal disruptions and any impacted households were able flush lines by running faucets for several minutes.

With approximately 2,000 valves, 950 fire hydrants and 130 miles of waterline in the system, the project is big.  However, this work will lead to a multi-million dollar and multi-year water system improvement project and determine future funding needs to modernize Claremore’s water system.

I want to recognize the great work of our Public Works team, who have been dedicating a few days every week, rain or shine, to complete this important work.  By doing the work in-house, we were able to save more than $250,000.

I look forward to sharing the outcomes soon, and our plans to systematically improve and replace old infrastructure.

Thanks,

John