GRAHAM (KFDX/KJTL) — Reports of a possible water plant explosion spurred the Young County Emergency responders to Power Plant Road Thursday afternoon.

According to Graham City Manager Eric Garretty, the Young County Emergency Communications Center was notified of a possible explosion at the Graham Water Treatment Plant around 12:10 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Emergency response personnel were on scene at Power Plant Road within five minutes.

Garretty said one non-critically injured person was evacuated by ambulance to the Graham Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Upon initial investigation, it was discovered that a rupture of a chemical tank containing liquid bleach (sodium hypochlorite) had occurred. The bleach was diluted to a 10% solution.

Garretty said further investigation revealed that the tank had ruptured, and the estimated spill is less than 2,500 gallons. Seepage of the chemical was confined to the immediate grounds of the Water Treatment Plant.

Emergency vehicles blocked the entrance of the water treatment plant. Credit: Christopher Walker

The City of Graham has opened a formal inquiry into the cause of the rupture. No further details on the cause of the rupture are available at this time.

Due to the swift response of the Graham Fire/Rescue Department, the Young County Sheriff’s Office, the Olney Volunteer Fire Department, and the Young and Jack Counties Offices of Emergency Management, the initial chemical spill was quickly assessed and mitigated, no downwind hazard was identified, and no evacuations of the area were required.

Eric Garretty

The City of Graham has approximately 24 hours of potable water in storage and does not anticipate any immediate outage of potable water to the City. They have requested the citizens to reduce water usage, effective immediately.

The City of Graham is receiving support from the Texas Department of Emergency Management, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Garretty said the City is developing a plan to safely bring the water treatment plant back online, but an exact time that the Plant will be back online is not known as of publication.

The City of Graham is asking the public to please avoid the area in and around Power Plant Road to allow emergency crews space to monitor the area and effect repairs.

The City will provide a follow-up release as repairs progress.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates as more information becomes available.