Southwest Detroit water main repaired, testing underway

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The massive 54-inch water main that broke open last month in Southwest Detroit has been repaired as authorities work to restore water and repair affected homes.

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) announced on Wednesday that the broken water main had been replaced and they were still working to test the water before it can be restored to customers' homes.

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) Director Gary Brown said on Thursday that they expect water to flow to homes again soon. He also said the secondary line that broke was also repaired.

"There still may be some work that needs to be done on the inside of the home, but all of the lines that feed this neighborhood are active with water," he said. 

But the problems don't end there. The sewers are backed up with mud and dirt from the water as it drained. GLWA maintains those sewers.

"So GLWA has completed yesterday a cleaning of all the sewers in this neighborhood to build capacity for rain," he said.

By the end of the day, Brown said 40 furnaces and. hot water tanks have all been replaced. 

"We have another 30 or so to go. We'll get an average of ten done a day. So Friday, Saturday and Sunday we would have completed the known furnaces and hot water tanks. That's important because we're trying to get people out of the hotel," he said. "They're tired of being at the hotel. They have their pets. They want to get back in their homes. We want to get them back in there as quickly as possible. So by early next week, all of the known furnaces, hot water tanks and water issues should be taken care of."

Brown said there are still 186 people in the hotel - which the city is paying for. 

In total, 188 homes needed debris removed and had to be sanitized before they were safe for people to enter.

Brown said the break of the 93-year-old pipe could not be prevented, regardless of preventative maintenance done.

"We're going to go back and do an after action report. With regards to how this was handled. I can think of a lot of things that I'm going to recommend that we do differently, but there's nothing that we could have done to have prevented the break that happened," he said.

The water main affected about 400 homes in the tight-knit Southwest Detroit neighborhood. 

"I know it was an inconvenience, but we're working as fast as we can to make things normal again," he said.

Repair work at the site of the Southwest Detroit water main break / Credit: GLWA Facebook

The backstory:

On Feb. 17, a 54-inch water main broke in the area of N. Green and Rowan streets. The water flowed for blocks, filling streets, flooding basements, and trapping residents in their homes.

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) Director Gary Brown said it was the worst water main break he has seen in a densely populated area in the 10 years he has been running the department.

A water main break floods Lexington Street in Detroit on Feb. 17, 2025.

The water was drained and crews worked to replace the broken pipe that was originally installed 100 years ago was cut out and replaced.

The city said it would take about two weeks to get the water main repaired – which would be this week.

Detroit planned to have the work all completed within six weeks.

But repairing the pipe and getting water back in is only part of the solution. The city has pledged to cover repairs and replacements of furnaces, water tanks, appliances, and more.

There are two forms residents need to complete, including one for claims and sewage backup HERE.