Neighborhood Soaked When Livonia Water Tank Springs A Leak
LIVONIA (WWJ) - A leak in a 10 million gallon water tank caused some excitement in Livonia Tuesday, flooding yards in a neighborhood near West Chicago Street and Middlebelt Road.
At around 10 a.m. a valve stuck open, allowing the tank to overfill and burst at the seams -- sending water cascading down like a waterfall.
WWJ Newsradio 950's Russ McNamara spoke with Emma Teller who lives next to the tank.
With water gushing right up to her backyard, she was worried. "That was more than I'd ever seen before and it did make me very nervous, because we're directly in front of it," Teller said.
Police went door to door in the neighborhood, warning residents of the situation and urging them to keep an eye out for any leaking water in their homes. Residents were not ordered to evacuate their homes, although some decided to do so.
Crews from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department rushed to the scene -- working quickly to close the valve. The leak was under control by early afternoon.
Engineers will be inspecting the tank and trying to determine what, if any, repairs need to be made. Officials said water that poured onto the ground would be sucked up by vacuum trucks.
97.1 The Ticket's Jeff Riger has lived across the street from the tank for about a year.
"To tell you the truth, when we were looking for the house, I wondered about the water tower, because it doesn't look that attractive to begin with," Riger said. "But I guess you never wonder ... is the water gonna start leaking, or is there gonna be a problem?"
"I just hope the water stays away from my house -- if that's not being too selfish," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear how many gallons of water spilled from the tank.
