City reopens water treatment plant

Lawton put its southeast water treatment plant back online late Tuesday night after shutting it down over the weekend, city officials said in a news release.

Residents on the east side of Lawton should see their water pressure return to normal.

Lawton shut the plant down on Friday due to high levels of manganese coming from Lake Waurika. The city pumped water from Lake Waurika to Lake Ellsworth to flush out excessive amounts of the mineral and fix the problem.

Manganese tints water a brownish-red when levels of the mineral are too high, but it is not harmful, officials said Friday.