Governor Whitmer declares state of emergency for Southeast Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a state of emergency for multiple counties affected by a water main break that was discovered on Saturday.
On Aug. 13, nearly one million residents in southeast Michigan were impacted after a boil water notice was put into effect by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).
Update: 130,000 people in Metro Detroit remain under boil water advisory
This all came after crews identified the location of a leak on a 120-inch water transmission main that distributes finished drinking water from a Lake Huron water treatment facility.
According to Whitmer’s press release, “the State Emergency Operations Center was activated as of 4 p.m. Saturday to respond to the ongoing water main break near the GLWA Lake Huron Water Treatment facility.”
The advisory initially covered 23 Metro-Detroit communities but was updated to include only 13.
Governor Whitmer announced that the state of emergency covers the counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair.
“We are drawing on every resource we have and taking every action necessary to get impacted families the help they need,” said Whitmer. “On Saturday, I activated the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate our response efforts, and with today’s state of emergency declaration, we are ensuring that state resources will be available as long as the impacted communities need them. In times of crisis, Michiganders stand together. We will do what it takes to get through this.”
According to authorities, officials and health experts will keep an eye on the counties under the advisory and will keep people aware of any further changes.
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