OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Thousands of Oakland County residents continue to face water service disruptions following a water main break that began early Thursday morning.
While the Great Lakes Water Authority has successfully isolated the break, residents are just starting to see improved water pressure.
However, a boil water advisory remains in effect for the city of Walled Lake and parts of Novi.
Residents in those areas were advised to continue boiling water before use.
Businesses, especially restaurants, were feeling the impact of the ongoing water outage.
Metro Detroit restaurant owners who are now facing day three without water spoke to Local 4 on Friday (Sept. 26).
Amy Kachmar, manager of El Mariachi restaurant on 14 Mile Road in Novi, experienced water main breaks before and during her 13 years at the restaurant.
But this break, involving a 42-inch pipe, has presented unique challenges.
“People are hesitant or don’t know if you’re open. The phone’s been ringing off the hook, checking to see if we’re even open or if we have water,” said Kachmar.
Notices on the door and empty coffee pots had made it clear to customers which services are limited.
“We can serve bottled stuff, alcohol, canned soda, and bottled water. Nothing else,” Kachmar said.
Water is essential for food service and cleanliness, and the outage has changed daily operations.
“Everything changes. The hand-washing procedure takes twice as long just to do that. So, for cooks as well, you know, they can’t touch anything, so they have to wash their hands, and they have to use sanitizer,” Kachmar said.
Shytindar Das, owner of Riki Sushi for 17 years, had been boiling water bought in cases to keep his kitchen running.
Das can only make ramen instead of sushi and had to close the restaurant on Thursday, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
“I don’t know, it’s people, very scary. You know, a couple of people call me, ‘Do you guys have good water?’ I say I have bottled water. So, this is a completely bad business,” said Das.
The timing is especially difficult as both restaurants rely on Thursday through Saturday for their busiest business days.
They worry the weekend could be tough if the water situation does not improve.
“Today, I think people don’t know if it’s open, or some of the blockages probably are stopping traffic from coming by this area. I know it’s still got water over there, so we’ll see. It’s Friday night,” Das said.
Officials with the GLWA have yet to provide details on the cause of the break.
Both restaurant owners remain hopeful they can work around the issues and return to full operation soon.
Residents dealing with water issues can visit Oakland County’s webpage for the latest repair updates.