Businesses make changes to keep customers safe amid boil water advisory in SE Michigan
(CBS DETROIT) - Work continues to fix the water main break that has more than 130,000 people in Southeast Michigan under a boil water advisory.
Officials in the impacted areas have been distributing water to residents as they wait for confirmation their water is safe to drink.
On Saturday, a leak was in a 120-inch water transmission main that distributes water from the Lake Huron Water Treatment Facility to residents. Since crews have been on site to assess the damage, find out why it happened and move forward with creating a repair plan.
The advisory remains in effect for the following areas: Village of Almont, Bruce Township, Burtchville Township, Imlay City, Rochester, Shelby Township, and Washington Township.
Residents aren't the only ones affected. Businesses are also feeling the impact of the advisory.
In Washington Township, Art and Jakes Sports Bar and Grill had to make changes to its operations by boiling water before preparing meals and buying soda and bottled water from the store.
"A lot of the restaurants around here aren't open because they don't have the means to do that. We want to be here for the people to be able to service people," said Alfred O'Brien, the GM of the bar.
The changes are costly, but it's a small price to pay to keep customers safe, O'Brien said.
He added, "I hope it's only two weeks. Obviously, it's added work on us all. We all know restaurants our stretched staffing-wise as it is and to add an extra step, doesn't seem like much to the average person, but it does stretch a restaurant…But, no matter how long it takes, we're going to make sure we are doing it safely."
It could take three weeks before the repairs are complete, said Sue Coffey, CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority.