DETROIT (WXYZ) — A broken water main created a geyser on Detroit's west side and erupted for several hours. It formed on Stanely Street near Wabash Street.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said it got an emergency call at 9 a.m. A tipster tells 7 Action News they noticed only a small bubble around midnight and reported it to the city.
Joe Williams, a local resident joked, “I normally come this way. When I saw the gushing out, I thought about… I didn’t want to pass up a car wash but then on second thought, I didn’t want to be the victim of a sinkhole.”
That may be wise thinking by Williams. Every now and then, instead of turning around, some drivers still attempted to go down Stanley Street.
As water flows from larger transmission lines to smaller distribution lines to smaller service lines "the pressure's going to be greater and of course, you're going to get a higher geyser."
Gary Brown, director of the water and sewage department, explained that to 7 Action News.
He said three to five water main breaks happen every single day in the city. That's largely due to changes in temperature which affect pipes, more specifically shifting pipes that are aging.
Brown said that's where the need to prioritize repairs comes in.
"We certainly take into consideration if it's near a school, a hospital, a senior citizens complex. They get the highest priority, but most importantly we always deal with the ones in which people are out of water," he explained.
The break on Stanley Street is next to fields of grass and trees and some abandoned properties as well as a DDOT bus garage. A DWSD crew came out around noon to isolate the break and relieve the pressure.
The city said this break took priority because of the geyser, but repairing any break is a process.
“A lot of people think that we can come out right away and stick a shovel in the ground or a backhoe and start digging, but we have to... safety’s number one at DWSD. And we’ve got to get MISS DIG," Brown said.
"Just like we ask our residents to do. Before you dig, you’ve got to get MISS DIG out. You got to get the markings of where the utility lines are. We don’t want any gas explosions or hitting any electrical lines," he said.
The city said, "No boil water advisory has been issued. After the water main is repaired, residents are advised to run their faucets for 2-5 minutes to remove any sediment that may have been caused by the disruption."
