DETROIT'S EAST SIDE (WXYZ) — Gary Brown, the Director of the Board of Water Commissioners for the city of Detroit, said that workers with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department are working to repair a "couple dozen" water main breaks throughout the city of Detroit. These water main breaks are turning city streets into frozen rivers.
Watch Brown speak to the media
Brown said that workers with the Department of Public Works have been called in to clear the drains before DWSD workers start making repairs.
"This is historic, regionally, to have this deep of a freeze for this long of a time, because it looks like it's going to go on another week, maybe 10 days," Brown said. "We're asking people to be patient, we can't get to everyone at the same time, but we're going to make sure people have water and that we get the streets cleared and that everybody's safe."
We're told that it's unclear if any residents are without water as a result of these breaks, but Brown said that was not the case as of Monday evening. He also said that those without water will be the priority fixes throughout this process.
We were monitoring two water main breaks earlier this morning: one on Laing, near Grayton, and the other on Dequindre, near East State Fair. The water has been pouring into the streets all morning, and in these frigid temperatures, it's causing problems for people living in the area and for drivers. On Laing, you can see trash cans and even cars frozen in place.
Watch Brittany's report in the video player below
These water main breaks comes amid a bitter cold snap, which we know is top of mind for so many across metro Detroit today. Right now, a cold weather advisory is in effect for the entirety of Southeast Michigan. That's because our wind chills are well below zero degrees, which has already closed over 100 schools.
We talked with a nurse stuck in a vehicle in the middle of Laing, with water coming up to her tires. She tells us she doesn't even live on this block, turned down on her lunch break at 2:30 a.m., and didn't see water or ice covering the street.
"I’m on lunch break. So I was coming, I was driving to this gas station, and it’s so dark on this block, I was coming to go around the block and ran into this," Brandy told us. "I'm just frustrated. Just frustrated. It’s late. I’m trying to get back to work, and I'm just a little frustrated.
Brandy was one of multiple vehicles surrounded by water. She was stuck for about 30 minutes when we talked to her, running her vehicle to stay warm. Thankfully, she’s back at work safe. She was stuck in her car for over an hour. Her vehicle and others have since been removed.
No timetable was provided on when these breaks will be repaired
