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March 17, 2010

Water on in Webbers ... for now

Mayor says service may be shut off if sewer isn’t up to code

By Donna Hales

Water expected to be flowing to a Webbers Falls woman’s home this morning could dry up again Monday.

Polly Turley’s battle for water, waged since December, may not be over.

Mayor Bob Ogg said a pipe connection may not be large enough to support sewage flow from two homes. State plumbing regulations require a six-inch line, and Ogg said the line connecting Turley’s home with her sister’s home may be a four-inch line.

Ogg said he is concerned city water employees could lose their licenses if water was turned on before a sewer connection was uncovered and examined.

An Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman said DEQ did not need to inspect a line if a licensed plumber connected it.

Judy Duncan said a DEQ field officer notified her Wednesday afternoon that Ogg said a larger connecting line might be needed.

The DEQ field worker referred Ogg to the state plumbing inspector, Duncan said.

“I’m on the watch,” Ogg said. “Things have been done incorrectly before. I’m trying to do what’s right.”

Ogg said he has arranged a state-certified inspector to examine Turley’s sewer hookup Monday morning.

Ogg faces a contempt hearing at 10 a.m. Monday as a result of the delay in getting Turley’s water service started.

Muskogee County District Judge Thomas Alford will decide if Ogg should be fined $500 per day for every day Turley’s water was not connected after Alford ordered it connected.

Turley’s son dug a trench from the meter to her house Wednesday, and the water line was to be laid from the meter.

“All I ever wanted was water — not a court fight,” Turley said.

No resident of Webbers Falls had ever had to fight to get a water meter, she said. She knows of no one ever required to buy a permit before or show their deed.

“I moved my sister in a year ago and there was no sewer tax — nothing,” she said.

Reach Donna Hales at 918-684-2923 or Click Here to Send Email

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