Shelby Township

Boil alert lifted for Shelby Township

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo provided by Shelby Township Department of Public Works Water floods eastbound 24 Mile Road following the break of a 36-inch Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water main in Shelby Township. Photo provided by Shelby Township Department of Public Works Water floods eastbound 24 Mile Road following the break of a 36-inch Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water main in Shelby Township. Photo provided by Shelby Township Department of Public Works The view from westbound 24 Mile Road following a water main break that has had Shelby Township and some neighboring communities in a boil alert since early May 29. 0 Photo provided by Shelby Township Department of Public Works The view from westbound 24 Mile Road following a water main break that has had Shelby Township and some neighboring communities in a boil alert since early May 29.

Shelby Township residents have been given the all clear from the community's Department of Public Works to drink the water as the boil alert that was the result of a May 29 break in a 36-inch water main along 24 Mile Road has been lifted.

Shelby Township DPW officials confirmed at 11:30 a.m. June 1 both samples to test for contamination because of backflow when pressure was lost after the break have come back clear.

"The samples results taken by the DWSD have come back clean," Dave Miller of the DPW said in a township email. "Therefore the boil water alert has been lifted.

"As an extra precaution water lines could be flushed for (two to three) minutes and old ice from ice makers can be discarded," Miller added. "The Department of Public Works is requesting that all nonessential use (lawn irrigation, car washing, etc.) is limited until service from the (36-inch) DWSD transmission line has been fully restored. The estimated time for this completion is June 5, 2012."

The water main, which feeds three of the six lines that provide water to Shelby Township, near 24 Mile and Schoenherr roads burst May 29, forcing the closure of 24 Mile Road and the use of caution when it comes to drinking water in Shelby Township.

"At one point me and my daughter were stopping people from driving because there was no road there," said Natalie Petitt, owner of Mandel Greenhouse and Florist, which is located at the epicenter of the break. "There was water shooting into the air, and it was literally sending chunks of asphalt into the air."

The break has affected just one line's pressure, but Schoenherr said the potential for contamination forced all residents to maintain a boil alert for water consumption.

DPW Director Ted Schoenherr said because of DWSD's successful closure of the water feeding into the broken main, damage was restricted to one feed for Shelby Township and any drop in pressure to that feed could be addressed by utilizing flow from the five other feeds.

To help that, though, Schoenherr urged residents to restrict the use of water for non-essential services such as lawn watering.

"We're trying to tweak our system, so that we can serve our community," Schoenherr said May 30. "That's why we're asking not to water (lawns) because every little bit counts."

Schoenherr said the main break was the largest he had seen in at least 30 years in Shelby Township.
"Within Shelby, we haven’t had one this big in almost 30 years," Schoenherr said. "There's been other breaks where the community is impacted, but nothing this significant."

He said that the cause of the problem was likely the age of the pipe and not usage following a Memorial Day weekend that saw the mercury rise to 94 degrees.

“These things are bound to happen,” Schoenherr said. “This pipe has been underground for 40 to 45 years. After a period of time, these things can happen.”

Also as a result of the break, school was cancelled at Utica High School and Beck, Ebeling and Wiley elementary schools May 30. All schools reopened for May 31.

"We will assess the schools each day," Utica Community Schools Director of School and Community Relations Tim McAvoy said in an email May 30. "The four schools that were closed today did not have enough pressure for the rest rooms. Other schools have supplies of bottled water for situations such as this."

Shelby Township police were alerted to the break and resulting flooding of 24 Mile Road, which closed the road between Schoenherr and Jewell roads, at noon May 29. Flooding also caused the closure of several side streets in the area.

Schoenherr said because of the damage to 24 Mile Road, the road would remain closed through repairs to the main, and then the repairs to the road would be addressed.

"Once they fix the main, they have some rebuilding of the road to do," Schoenherr said. "It will be a major road repair."
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.