Detroit's Water Disaster Alerts Need an Overhaul, City Admits
Joe Guillen
Detroit Free Press
2:26 p.m. ET March 3, 2017
Detroit water officials today committed to revising their notification protocol after acknowledging that residents and elected officials could have been told earlier about a boil water advisory that affected a third of the city this week.
The Great Lakes Water Authority first recommended the advisory at 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a time line water officials gave the Detroit City Council this morning.
But many residents, businesses and schools had no idea about the alert as of Wednesday morning — many hours after water pressure problems first happened at 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Just the communication, I think, was the major issue with the entire process,” Councilwoman Mary Sheffield said.
In some respects, water officials viewed this week’s communication problems in Detroit as a learning lesson.
The boil water alert was lifted this morning after a second consecutive test came back clear. Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown said Detroit’s water was never contaminated and that the alert in Detroit was precautionary.
Still, Brown agreed that emergency response protocols need to be updated in cases of boil water advisories. He said the first step is incorporating tools from the city’s emergency response system that is used for natural disasters and other hazards.
Those citywide emergency response tactics would have been used if there was any indication Detroit’s water was contaminated, Brown said.
Officials from the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Detroit water department, Detroit public schools, the city’s Homeland Security Department, local hospitals and others will meet Tuesday to discuss improving communications when water system issues crop up.
The Detroit water department also is looking at designing a text message alert system based on customers’ contact information in the billing system, Brown said. Sending alerts through text messages would enable the department to target customers within specific geographic areas.
While water officials gave assurances the notification system would be improved, council members wanted to know exactly what happened with this week’s water boil advisory.
Brown said he was not involved in the water authority’s talks with MDEQ. Based on the authority’s recommendation, the Detroit water department put out its first notice at 10:46 p.m. on Tuesday.
Brown said the boil water alert in Detroit was precautionary. The water pressure levels in Detroit never dipped below 20 pounds per square inch — the state’s threshold that requires public notification.
“While I wasn’t involved in the conversation with MDEQ, I think we all believed that because we hadn’t dropped below the required 20 pounds of pressure, because we had the pressure going back up within two to three hours, that there would be no boil water advisory.”
After the City Council hearing, Brown said he expects the notification system for boil water advisories to change “without a doubt.”
“It’s unfortunate that people had to wait 48 hours and businesses were disrupted, but we don’t have to apologize for erring on the side of caution,” he said.
Sue McCormick, CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority, which operates Detroit’s water equipment, gave the following timeline:
4:50 p.m. on Tuesday: The valve control system at Water Works Park on East Jefferson Avenue began to malfunction, causing pumps to back up and a temporary drop in water pressure.
5:07 p.m.: Great Lakes Water Authority staff gathered information and began implementing corrective measures. A notice went out to four people the Detroit water department chose to receive updates about water system emergencies.
7:56 p.m. The water quality manager for the Great Lakes Water Authority began talking to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. McCormick said MDEQ advised the Great Lakes Water Authority to issue a recommendation to affected communities that they issue a boil water advisory.
8:40 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.: Great Lakes Water Authority staff discussed the boil water advisory recommendation with Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.
9:15 p.m.: The Great Lakes Water Authority issued a public statement on its recommendation to issue a boil water advisory.
10:51 p.m.: Media advisories sent to local news outlets regarding water.
Detroit Free Press
2:26 p.m. ET March 3, 2017
Detroit water officials today committed to revising their notification protocol after acknowledging that residents and elected officials could have been told earlier about a boil water advisory that affected a third of the city this week.
The Great Lakes Water Authority first recommended the advisory at 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a time line water officials gave the Detroit City Council this morning.
But many residents, businesses and schools had no idea about the alert as of Wednesday morning — many hours after water pressure problems first happened at 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Just the communication, I think, was the major issue with the entire process,” Councilwoman Mary Sheffield said.
In some respects, water officials viewed this week’s communication problems in Detroit as a learning lesson.
The boil water alert was lifted this morning after a second consecutive test came back clear. Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown said Detroit’s water was never contaminated and that the alert in Detroit was precautionary.
Still, Brown agreed that emergency response protocols need to be updated in cases of boil water advisories. He said the first step is incorporating tools from the city’s emergency response system that is used for natural disasters and other hazards.
Those citywide emergency response tactics would have been used if there was any indication Detroit’s water was contaminated, Brown said.
Officials from the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Detroit water department, Detroit public schools, the city’s Homeland Security Department, local hospitals and others will meet Tuesday to discuss improving communications when water system issues crop up.
The Detroit water department also is looking at designing a text message alert system based on customers’ contact information in the billing system, Brown said. Sending alerts through text messages would enable the department to target customers within specific geographic areas.
While water officials gave assurances the notification system would be improved, council members wanted to know exactly what happened with this week’s water boil advisory.
Brown said he was not involved in the water authority’s talks with MDEQ. Based on the authority’s recommendation, the Detroit water department put out its first notice at 10:46 p.m. on Tuesday.
Brown said the boil water alert in Detroit was precautionary. The water pressure levels in Detroit never dipped below 20 pounds per square inch — the state’s threshold that requires public notification.
“While I wasn’t involved in the conversation with MDEQ, I think we all believed that because we hadn’t dropped below the required 20 pounds of pressure, because we had the pressure going back up within two to three hours, that there would be no boil water advisory.”
After the City Council hearing, Brown said he expects the notification system for boil water advisories to change “without a doubt.”
“It’s unfortunate that people had to wait 48 hours and businesses were disrupted, but we don’t have to apologize for erring on the side of caution,” he said.
Sue McCormick, CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority, which operates Detroit’s water equipment, gave the following timeline:
4:50 p.m. on Tuesday: The valve control system at Water Works Park on East Jefferson Avenue began to malfunction, causing pumps to back up and a temporary drop in water pressure.
5:07 p.m.: Great Lakes Water Authority staff gathered information and began implementing corrective measures. A notice went out to four people the Detroit water department chose to receive updates about water system emergencies.
7:56 p.m. The water quality manager for the Great Lakes Water Authority began talking to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. McCormick said MDEQ advised the Great Lakes Water Authority to issue a recommendation to affected communities that they issue a boil water advisory.
8:40 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.: Great Lakes Water Authority staff discussed the boil water advisory recommendation with Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.
9:15 p.m.: The Great Lakes Water Authority issued a public statement on its recommendation to issue a boil water advisory.
10:51 p.m.: Media advisories sent to local news outlets regarding water.
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