The boil water alert for residents of Inkster, Romulus, Wayne and Westland was lifted early Sunday after extensive testing was complete. The boil water advisory was issued last week when an equipment failure at the Great Lakes Water Authority may have contaminated the water.
Authorities from the respective communities and GLWA issued the alert last Friday, with an expected end to the precautionary measure by Sunday. The alert resulted from the malfunction of a pump station located on Michigan Avenue. Officials continue to investigate the cause of the power outage believed to have caused the equipment failure.
“This equipment has been repaired and water pressure and flow quickly restored,” representatives of the water authority said. “Whenever a water system loses pressure for any significant length of time, the precautionary measure of a boil water advisory is recommended,” they added.
The first round of test results taken by GLWA following the boil water alert were clear for the City of Wayne and parts of Romulus, Westland and Inkster, officials said.
While these results were an indication that there was nothing wrong with the water, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) requires the boil water advisory remain in effect until the second round of testing returns clear. Those results were achieved Sunday and the boil water advisory lifted.
GLWA took the precautionary measure of issuing the boil water advisory on Friday, May 26, due to the loss of pressure in the water distribution system.
The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is the provider-of-choice for drinking water services to nearly 40 percent of Michigan residents and wastewater services to nearly 30 percent of the Michigan population.
Residents impacted by the alert were cautioned to boil all water for at least one minute before consuming or to use bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and preparing food. Boiling the water for one minute kills the bacteria and other organisms in the water, GWLA authorities explained in a prepared statement.
GLWA representatives said they were working closely with the affected communities and the team will be taking other remedial actions such as flushing and collecting bacteriological samples from around the system. Samples will be collected to determine and ensure that the water quality meets all drinking water standards, they said.
The GLWA board of directors includes one representative each from Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, two representatives from the City of Detroit and one appointed by the Michigan governor to represent customer communities outside of the tri-county area.
