PORT HURON — After Friday afternoon's distribution at the city's mid-town fire station resulted in massive traffic congestion, residents will have another chance to pick up bottled water early Saturday to help get them through the ongoing boil water advisory affecting residents below the Black River.
The city will continue to distribute water to those affected from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the public works facility at 1808 Bancroft St., according to another directive from Mayor Pauline Repp. Those who approach the site are asked to come in from the west, as city staff will help load water for residents.
Port Huron City Manager James Freed said three semi-truckloads of bottled water were given out Friday, gridlocking vehicles for a period around Fire Station #1 on 10th Street and nearby roadways, where officers helped to guide traffic. Earlier in a message, he said they were handing out 59,000 bottles.
Freed credited Kroger with donating a bulk of the distributed water, as well as staff at Sam's Club with helping take water from their warehouse. In addition to the hundreds who turned out to the fire station, the city administrator said they also sent cases to senior residents such as at St. Clair Landings.
"We just want to make sure people have safe access to water," he said.
How did this happen?
A boil water notice was issued for all residents south of the Black River at around 8:30 a.m. Friday until further notice after a large water main break. The advisory said it did not impact other residents or those in surrounding townships.
Public Works Director Eric Witter said there was a break on one of the 20-inch water mains under the river between 6:15 a.m. and 6:55 a.m. around 12th Avenue and the old Chicory building.
The break resulted in lower or reduced water pressure. The city must accommodate state environmental requirements with the advisory, Witter said, “if your system pressure goes below 20 PSI (pound-force per square inch), and we went down to 9 in a certain part of the southern end of Port Huron.”
By 7 a.m., he said the break was isolated and the water pressure was back up.
When will the advisory end?
Initially, there was no definite answer of when the advisory would end, as Witter said two consecutive tests in the system would be required 24 hours apart once the main break was repaired.
By late Friday, Freed said the water main had been successfully repaired, starting the 48-hour miminum for testing. He said that meant the boil advisory would remain until further notice through at least the weekend.
“We’ll be issuing more information as time goes on,” Witter said early Friday.
How long do you boil the water?
Freed said a rough estimate of 16,000 water uses were potentially affected by the advisory.
Officials emphasized it only applied to water consumption.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those under such an advisory should bring their water to a boil for a full minute if they don’t consume bottled water instead.
Those with questions can contact the city's public works department at (810) 984-9770.
Check back for more.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: UPDATE: 2nd water distribution set for early Saturday amid continued boil advisory
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