MOUNTAIN VIEW – A propane torch came in handy here during the recent Arctic weather conditions.
The frigid temperatures caused a water main break and leaks in two service lines underneath a street in the Kiowa County town, said Travis Green, one of the town’s two waterworks specialists.
In addition, pumps that operate municipal water wells housed inside a cinder block building froze overnight, Green related. “When we got up the next morning we realized the wells weren’t pumping. The only water we had was in our two storage tanks.”
So, a propane torch was used to heat the pumps. “A couple of them wouldn’t come back on but the others did,” he said.
The torch also was employed to heat asphalt that was used to patch the streets where the water line breaks were repaired, Green said.
Mountain View recently amended its water use permit issued by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB).
The town operates several wells north of town that supply drinking water to the community of approximately 730 residents, Green said. Some older wells that had been taken out of service were removed from the state permit and one well was added, he said.
Mountain View pumps groundwater from 10 wells in Washita County that penetrate the Rush Springs Sandstone aquifer, OWRB records reflect.