Valve Glitch Leads To Boil-Water Notice In Detroit

A valve error forced Detroit to close schools and issue a boil-water notice last week, affecting a third of city residents and highlighting problems in the city’s alert system for water emergencies.

“A glitch in a valve system at a Detroit water treatment plant caused a drop in pressure that led to [the] boil-water alert, water authority officials said Thursday, closed schools and has thrown cold water on sales for downtown Detroit eateries,” The Detroit News reported.

Amanda Abukhader, a spokesperson for the Great Lakes Water Authority, explained: “Simply put, it was an equipment malfunction.” Abukhader spelled out the problem to The Detroit News:

Abukhader said the problem behind the boil-water advisory stems from an equipment problem at the authority’s Water Works Park Water Treatment Facility on Jefferson near McClellan. The plant can produce up to 240 million gallons of drinking water per day, according to the authority.

The system that controls valves that allow water into the authority’s network of water mains and lines failed, closing the valves and keeping treated water out, which caused pumps to shut down. The result: a drop in water pressure levels, officials said. Abukhader said once the problem was identified it was corrected within hours.

Over two dozen schools were closed as a result of the boil-water notice, according to the Associated Press.

“The problem was addressed, but the advisory was issued due to concerns that bacteria could have gotten into the system,” the report said.

The boil-water notice was lifted Friday, according to reports.

“Two rounds of tests have come back clear — proving, they say, that there’s nothing wrong with the water. Issued Tuesday afternoon, the advisory was expected to remain in effect until noon on Friday, but was lifted two hours early,” CBS Detroit reported, citing the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Among the most significant consequences of the difficulties: The saga revealed a need to overhaul the city’s water alert system.

“Detroit water officials committed [on Friday] to revising their notification protocol after acknowledging that residents and elected officials could have been told earlier” about the advisory, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Despite the fact that the initial advisory was released on Tuesday morning, many residents did not learn the news until Wednesday morning, the report said.

“Officials from the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Detroit water department, Detroit public schools, the city’s Homeland Security Department, local hospitals and others will meet Tuesday to discuss improving communications when water system issues crop up,” the report said.

To read more about drinking water emergency notification visit Water Online’s Resiliency Solutions Center.