(WWJ) It could be two weeks before a water main break, which is still impacting seven Metro Detroit-area communities, is fully repaired.
That's the word from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) which said a new piece of pipe for the replacement and repair is heading to Michigan from Texas.
Early Saturday morning, the GLWA said it discovered a leak on a 120-inch water main that distributes finished drinking water from its Lake Huron Water Treatment facility to communities in the northern part of its service area.
The GLWA said a further review of pressure data found that the above communities never fell below the 20psi threshold for declaring a boil water advisory that initially affected more than 900,000 people in Metro Detroit; primarily in Macomb and Oakland counties.
Sunday afternoon, officials said at least some water pressure restored to all impacted communities. As of Monday morning, only seven communities remained under the boil water advisory — including around 133,000 people.
The advisory remains in effect for the following: the Village of Almont, Bruce Township, Burtchville Township, Imlay City, the City of Rochester, Shelby Township and Washington Township.
In addition, the advisory is also in place for the Industrial Park in Romeo and one business in Greenwood.
Cheryl Porter, chief operating officer of the Great Lakes Water Authority, said the break was found quickly.
"The way we monitor our system we were able to immediately detect that we had lost pressure on this line," Porter said. "So were able to immediately dispatch people to the location so that we could find exactly where the break is, and start to effectuate a repair."
Crews have isolated the break, officials said, and have started the process of removing water from the site using four eight-inch pumps, which will prepare the area for the repairs to begin.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, GLWA expects the timeline for returning the pipeline to service to be two weeks – one week for the repairs and an additional week for water quality testing.
“GLWA understands the real-life impact that this water main break is having on the hundreds of thousands of people in the affected communities and we truly appreciate their patience and understanding as we work to implement the necessary repairs,” said Suzanne R. Coffey, GLWA Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. “I am grateful for the GLWA team who has been working tirelessly to restore water pressure to all communities and working as quickly as possible to restore service.”
The GWLA said residents still under the advisory should not drink the water without boiling it first. Residents are required to bring all water to a boil for at least one minute and then let it cool prior to using. Boiling the water kills bacteria or other harmful organisms, which are more likely to develop in the water system when it loses pressure for too long.
Drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and cooking should only be done with bottled, boiled or disinfected water until the advisory is lifted.
The 120" transmission main is the largest part of the regional water system, and the break is located about one mile west of the GLWA's Lake Huron Water Treatment Facility in Port Huron, according to the GLWA. The cause of the break is under investigation.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Saturday afternoon activated the state's emergency operations center in response to this incident.
The state said the activation will ensure all resources are available to support those communities affected.
“Our top priority right now is protecting the public health and safety of Michigan residents until this water main is fixed as quickly as possible,” Whitmer said. “I have activated the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure that every possible resource is available to GLWA and the impacted communities to accomplish that goal."
On Sunday, Whitmer declared a state of emergency in Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair counties.
For the communities still under the advisory, it will be in effect until further notice.
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