Source of leak that's drained thousands of gallons of water in El Reno found
Authorities say they have found the source of a leak that drained millions of gallons of water in El Reno and prompted school closures.
El Reno officials told KOCO 5 that they found the leak on private property along South Jensen Road. In a news release, the city said crews described the area around the leak as a "swamp" due to how much water had accumulated.
The property owner has been out of state, so the city and crews that had been searching for the leak didn't know its location until Thursday morning.
According to El Reno officials, the leak was in a private water line and was not the result of a failure of the city's water system. Approximately 3 million gallons of water were estimated to have been lost because of the leak.
>> Video Below: El Reno water leak drains water tower, closes schools and offices as crews hunt for source
While the source of the leak has been found and isolated, city officials said it will take time for pressure to rebuild throughout the system and for normal water service to be restored. Residents and businesses affected by the leak may continue to experience low water pressure as the system recovers, according to the news release.
School closings
El Reno Public Schools canceled classes for a second straight day, and the problem is spilling over into Union City, which buys water from El Reno. So, Union City Public Schools has also canceled classes.
Redlands Community College and Canadian County offices also are closed Thursday.
Water leak discovery
City officials said the major leak was discovered overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. That leak has drained thousands of gallons from the water tower.
Since then, crews worked around the clock to find the source of the leak.
"They're physically driving it. Our drones are flying it. We have a police helicopter flying it," El Reno City Manager Ken Brown said. "We believe it's going to be a service line because of the amount of water lost."
>> Video Below: El Reno water leak drains water tower, closes schools and offices as crews hunt for source