Residents and businesses in parts of Macomb County are being asked to conserve water following a potential leak discovered by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). The issue affects roughly 75,000 residents in Chesterfield Township, Lenox Township, and the City of New Haven, with people there seeing discolored or cloudy water and experiencing lower water pressure, CBS News Detroit reported.
In response to the situation, GLWA has intentionally lowered the regional system pressures to investigate and prepare for potential repairs on the 36-inch water transmission main located on Gratiot Avenue between 24 and 25 Mile roads. This challenge for field crews is compounded due to the main being made of prestressed concrete cylinder pipe. According to a statement obtained by Voice News, Chesterfield Township has requested that residents and businesses suspend all "secondary water usage", such as sprinkling, filling pools, and washing cars, and reduce overall water usage as much as possible.
The impact of the potential leak and subsequent pressure changes has led to water quality concerns. GLWA COO Cheryl Porter has mentioned that system aging and weather swings can affect infrastructure, and that the team is looking to repair the leak quickly while trying to minimize customer impact, as reported by an Audacy interview with WWJ's Darrylin Horne. Porter said GLWA anticipates the issue could persist for about 7 to 10 days.
