Boil water advisory issued for Flint residents after water main break

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - A boil water advisory has been issued for Flint residents following a water main break Friday morning.

The break was reported shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10.

It happened on Cedar Street near the Shelter of Flint. According to Mike Brown, director of the Department of Public Works division, the break happened out in a field and it was not noticed right away.

On Saturday morning, the city said crews are continuing work to repair the 24″ transmission main. A large split was discovered, requiring 14-to-16 feet of pipe to be cut and replaced.

City officials said they expect repairs to be completed later on Saturday, and that flushing and bacterial testing will continue into Monday.

City residents are being asked to boil water for drinking and cooking.

“Residents should filter cold water. Then boil that water. And replace their cartridge when the advisory is lifted,” Brown said.

He added that free water filter units, replacement cartridges, and water testing kits are available for city of Flint residents at Flint City Hall, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Everyone is being asked to avoid the area while crews work to restore water service. City crews have isolated the break and are currently working to fix it, according to Brown, adding that the cause is yet to be identified.

“We’re estimating right now, if everything goes well, by Monday we’ll be all clear with this. The repair is underway right now. We have other crews on standby beyond our own,” said Mayor Neeley. “We have a level of capacity to be able to get the resources necessary to be able to get this done in a very quick amount of time.”

Brown said that the city will go out and take samples for the next couple of days to test for bacterial contamination. The advisory will be lifted after two full days of zero bacterial contamination is detected.

Neeley said there will be a level of redundancy in this process in order to make sure everything is clear.

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