Nearly 300 Detroit residents moved into hotel rooms this week after a water main break flooded their homes with icy water and disabled furnaces amid subfreezing temperatures, officials said.
It could take six weeks before many can return, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department director Gary Brown said at a news conference Tuesday.
The break in Southwest Detroit happened hours before first light Monday and affected an area of nearly 400 homes, with about half of those the sites of basement flooding and no heat, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said at a news conference Tuesday.
Even with city-funded hotel rooms available, hundreds stayed put or moved in with others, he said, as the city’s response shifted from rescuing stranded residents to a “full recovery mode” that includes repairing the main and ensuring homes are habitable.
Todd King, chief resiliency officer at the Great Lakes Water Authority, said workers at the site of the break, which the mayor described as “a monumental hole in the ground,” had yet to reach the exact location of the breach along the main.
They had been removing water with three pumps so excavation to get to the breakpoint could begin, which commenced Tuesday, according to King and statements from the water authority.
Workers now need to expose the pipe, find the break and determine the exact cause, King said.
Two sets of contractors were ready to replace the section of pipe that was breached, he said. It could be two weeks before the new section is in place and “welded up,” King said.
At the same time, Duggan said, a city water main was breached at nearly the same location, and a gas line ruptured as well. He said a handful of households would ultimately be affected by those additional infrastructure issues. The city main can’t be repaired until the Great Lakes Water Authority main breach is addressed, the mayor said.
City spokesperson John Roach indicated weather may have played a role in Monday’s breach. Temperatures were in the low 20s and dipped to a wind chill factor of negative 2 by day’s end, according to National Weather Service data.
“The exact cause isn’t known but it’s most likely a combination of aging infrastructure and freezing temperatures,” Roach said in a statement Monday.
But Duggan took responsibility, saying it was “a failure of a Detroit built, GLWA maintained water main,” he said, citing both City Hall and the Great Lakes Water Authority.
“That’s the truth and we’re going to fix it,” he said.
The break took place along a 54-inch steel water transmission main built in the 1930s, the Great Lakes Water Authority said.
One man who was rescued was stabilized at a hospital after breathing problems, Duggan said. He was expected to be released Tuesday, the mayor said.
In all, 94 people, including 31 children, were rescued from flooded homes following the 3 a.m. response by city first responders on Monday, Duggan said. A front loader — a tractor with a massive scoop — was used to help with some rescues, he said.
Rescuers went house to house Tuesday to check on residents, the mayor said.
Of the 398 homes affected, 190 had basement flooding, 174 still do not have heat, and 72 remained without power on Tuesday, he said.
The mayor said police patrols will be more frequent in the area until the breach is repaired.
An army of city inspectors — 80 in all — were in the flood zone on Tuesday, according to the mayor.
Duggan said that he hopes inspections will be completed by the end of the week so city contractors can begin repairs on Monday.
In the meantime, he said, “You can stay in that hotel until your power and your heat are back on.”
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