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Bartlesville City Manager Mike Bailey, Public Works Director Keith Henry, Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Berry and Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen appeared on CITY MATTERS on KWON on Monday to bring us up-to-date on city issues.

 

Public Works Director Keith Henry reminded everyone that the Spring Grass and Leaf Pickup is coming the week of May 8-12. 

 

The event is typically held twice each year, in the spring and fall, to help Bartlesville solid waste utility customers dispose of dead leaves and other yard debris for no extra cost.

 

Bartlesville residents can put their bagged yard debris or bundled tree limbs at their normal trash collection point on their normal trash day during the collection week, and City crews will come by and pick them up that day. The collection is for the following items only:

 

 

During the collection week only, yard debris bags will not require yard waste stickers, and clear or colored bags are allowed. The collection is for private residences only; no commercial collections will be made. There is no limit on the number of bags a resident can put out for the collection. Extra bags or items of household refuse outside the cart must have the red refuse sticker attached.

 

Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Berry recapped the big wildfires a couplr of weeks ago that burned several thousand acres and consumed a number of out buildings along with nearly 10 homes in the affected areas.

 

Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen reminded he audience that due to the drought, we are now in Phase 3 of the Water Shortage Ordinance.

 

Phase 3 limits outdoor water use to one day per week, drops the written warning for the first violation, includes reduced water pressure within the distribution system, and could later result in higher rates for households and businesses using more than 2,001 gallons of water per month.

 

“Implementing an increased fee schedule requires approval of a resolution by the City Council, so we will maintain Phase 2 rates for now,” said Lauritsen. “If we are still in Phase 3 in early May, the council will be asked to approve the resolution for Phase 3 rates at that time.”

 

Phases of the ordinance are based on the percentage of overall water supply. Stage 1 kicks in when levels fall to 79-70 percent, Stage 2 is 69-60 percent, Stage 3 is 59-50 percent, and Stage 4, which is considered “critical,” is any level below 50 percent. The City entered Stage 1 of the ordinance in December 2022, and overall water supply has continued to decline at a steady rate since that time.

 

As of Monday morning, the City’s overall water supply was at 57.4 percent, putting the area in Phase 3 of the Water Shortage Ordinance — just above “critical” status.

 

Beginning April 24, the following provisions are in effect for all City of Bartlesville water customers:

 

 

A variance committee is in place to consider cases of undue hardship for the emergency rates.

 

“Anyone who feels these provisions place an undue burden on them, their organization or business can seek a variance,” Lauritsen said. “This would apply mostly to health care facilities, multi-family dwellings, and things of that nature.”

 

To apply for a variance, complete the “Contact Us” form on the City’s website, www.cityofbartlesville.org, or call 918.338.4100. Variances apply only to rates and do not apply to outdoor water use or any other provision in the ordinance.

 

Good news? The Caney River Pump Station is back online after problems with the supply chain kept it offline for more than a year following a much-needed renovation, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said Monday.

 

The station was taken off-line in mid-2021 for a renovation, eliminating the City’s ability to pull 4 millions of water per day from the Caney River. The shut-down was intended to take a few months, but supply chain issues caused by the pandemic wreaked havoc with that plan.

 

“The motor controls were ordered in October 2021, and the manufacturer still has not delivered these items, which are normally an eight- to 10-week lead time.” said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen. “In October 2022, staff instructed the contractor to procure these motor controls from any and all available sources. The contractor located compatible controls in January 2023 that were left over from a Texas project. However, these controls had to be reworked to meet project specifications. They were delivered and installed last week. The pump station was turned on and used over the weekend.”

 

“While having the river station back in operation allows us to minimize the amount of water we draw from the lakes, it does not change the overall water supply and need to be vigilant with water conservation,” Lauritsen said.