FAQ

You may not have – when your meter was read, the numbers may have been hard to read or they could have been transposed.

Before you call the office, be sure you are not running any water in the house, go out to your meter and do two things:

1. Look at the little triangle on the face of the meter and if it is turning at all, no matter how slowly, this indicates you have a leak;
2. Write down all the numbers on the meter. This will include the zeros to the left of the numbers and the painted zero on the right end.

When you call the office give these numbers to us and this will help us to determine if the meter was misread or tell you how many gallons have been used since the meter was read. Also ask the office personnel what period of time the bill covers. We will work with you to try to answer your questions.

Usually the toilet is the item leaking. If you place a drop of food coloring in the tank and you see it in the bowl you have a leak. Check the float in the back of your tank. If too high the water will continually run into the overflow tube. This is the silent leak and cannot be heard.

Check all faucets for drips inside and outside. Outside Frost Proof Hydrants are generally the worst problem. The seal at the bottom of the hydrant becomes brittle or broken over time and needs to be replaced.

• Water Meter Box
• Cracked Water Line
• Stock Tanks
• Look for unusually green and lush growing spots in your yard.
• When mowing, watch for wet spots between the meter and your house.

Check your meter and the surrounding area for possible leaks. Next, call the office and report low pressure for your area.

If the leak appears to be at the meter or on the District’s side of the meter, please notify the District as soon as possible during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30am -4:00pm at 918-962-3421. If it is AFTER regular hours OR ON WEEKENDS OR HOLIDAYS contact District’s emergency number 918-647-6633.

If the leak appears between the meter and residence or business on customer’s private line, you may need to call a plumber. The District CANNOT repair leaks or do any work on customer’s side of the meter.

CALL before you dig!

Call Okie at 800-522-6543 or you can also call the national number 811. For regular digging or excavation work, Oklahoma state law requires you notify the One-Call at least 48 hours (excluding the date of notification, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) before you start digging so that all utilities, high pressure gas lines, etc can be located.

You call the same number for emergencies. When RWD #14 receives notice from CALL OKIE, they will locate all District lines and indicate same with blue paint.

LeFlore Rural Water District 14 has changed over to radio read meters. The radio signal from the new meters is not able to be read through the old metal lids, so we have installed plastic lids. In a heavy rain the plastic lids float. Also when mowing, the plastic lids can drawn into your mower possibly causing damage to your mower and ruining the lid. In order to allow the signal to be read and prevent loss of the meter lid and possible damage to your mower, the lids are locked. If you need to get into your meter box during REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS, call the office at 918-962-3421 and a service man will be dispatched to turn your meter off. If you need service AFTER HOURS, HOLIDAYS OR ON WEEKENDS, please call our emergency number 918-647-6633 and a service man will come turn the meter off for you.

District suggests you put a shut- off valve on the outside of the meter box for your personal use.

RWD #14 will maintain, service, or replace meters, meter cans or meter lids due to normal wear and tear.

Replacement charges will be applied to customer’s account for repeated damages to meters, meter cans or meter lids due to irresponsible actions.

Several reasons. The lid is painted blue when it is installed so it is more visible during the construction of the home. This prevents costly damage to the meter. It is also painted when locates are requested for an area and to make the meter more visible for the water district field staff.

All of the hydrants in our system are checked and tested for flow with the different colors representing different flow rates of the hydrants for Fire Department information.

The blue caps are one of two things, the meter lid and/or lids for valves used to control the flow of water in the event of a water main break.

We purchase water from Poteau Valley Improvement Authority. They draw the water from Lake Wister and process the water through their treatment plant, test it and then send it to our system.

RWD#14 does not add any chemicals to the water. All water treatment, including adding of chemicals is done by Poteau Valley Improvement Authority. Only chemicals that are approved by the National Safety Foundation for Treatment of Drinking Water and the national Environmental Protection Agency are added.

A milky or cloudy appearance is usually caused by air bubbles in the water, which pose no health risk. If the water is allowed to sit, the air will dissipate and the water will clear. If the cloudiness does not disappear, please contact us so that we may investigate.

Your water is disinfected to ensure that it is free of harmful bacteria. To reduce any chlorine taste or smell, try refrigerating your water before drinking.

The hardness of water varies with the water’s source. The choice to buy a softener is an aesthetic one, since hard water is not harmful to health. However, water softeners typically increase the sodium content of the water, a factor that should be considered by people on low-sodium diets.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, home treatment units are rarely necessary for health reasons. Most often, water treatment units are used to remove substances that affect the aesthetic qualities of the water. If you do choose to install a home treatment unit, it is important to follow the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions, because improperly maintained units can actually cause water quality problems.

Color in water is usually caused by naturally occurring organic matter, minerals, or mineral build-up in the pipes. We flush our water system regularly to clean mineral build-up and other sediment from the pipes. If you receive discolored water, you should let your faucets run until the water is clear. Such substances typically do not pose a health hazard; however, we ask that your please report any instances of discolored water so that we may investigate.

Tap water providers and bottled water providers must meet the same water quality standards. In fact, tap water providers are required to conduct more frequent water quality testing and reporting than bottled water providers. Some consumers prefer the taste of bottled water, and some choose bottled water because they have special health needs. But tap water is a much better deal at costs of 1,000 times less than bottled water.

We conduct regular water system flushing to remove any mineral build-up and sediment from the pipes and also to ensure that water circulates adequately throughout the system. Fire hydrants may also be opened to conduct fire-flow capability tests.

Dirt or sand can occur naturally in groundwater or as a result of a water line repair. We try to reduce the instances of dirt or sand in the water through regular flushing, which improves water quality by increasing the circulation of water in the pipes and removing most of the sediment from the water.

State and Federal regulations require District to prevent contamination of the public water supply. In order to comply with these regulations we require annual testing of all backflow devices.

It is the distance between the line (hose) and the vessel holding the water (tank, pool, etc). Usually a distance of at least 6” is recommended.