GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids has issued a public safety alert and a formal boil water advisory for portions of the city after a large water main break in the area of Leonard Street NE and Union Avenue NE.
The city said residents should boil their water if they live east of US-131 and north of Hall Street.
The communities impacted are the City of Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township.
A release from the city stated that a typical boil water advisory lasts for three to four days as the system is flushed and the water is sampled according to state and federal requirements after the break is fixed.
City officials said around 20,000 residences and businesses are under the boil water advisory, and they hope to have it lifted by Wednesday, March 20 at the earliest.
There will be another notification sent out once the advisory is lifted.
Until then, residents in the affected area should not drink tap water without boiling it. Residents should bring water to a boil, let it boil for one minute and then allow it to cool before using it.
According to a post on the city's Facebook page, boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation.
Boiling the water kills bacteria and other organisms in the water that could be harmful.
On Monday, the city said they are teaming up with SpartanNash to offer 1 free case of water to those impacted by the boil water advisory.
The city is working to resolve the issue, they said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon.
Crews have begun repairs and water pressure should be restored through the area soon, the city said. It also stated residents may see fire hydrants throughout the northeast side of the city pumping water as they work to flush the system.
13 ON YOUR SIDE began receiving reports from viewers around 2 p.m. on Sunday stating that there was low water pressure or no water at all in certain areas in Grand Rapids.
Meijer Gardens posted on Facebook and said they were closing as of 2:30 p.m. due to an "area-wide water outage." Evening activities were also canceled.
Emily Loeks, the director of public relations and community affairs for Studio C and Celebration Cinema movie theaters, said they had to close their Celebration Cinema North location in Grand Rapids as well.
She said the problem began around 1:45 p.m. when their kitchens and restaurants weren't functioning properly because of the low water pressure. Due to this, the theater stopped showing new movies for the rest of the day.
"Stuff like this is tough for our team," Loeks said. "But circumstances like this happen and we are on standby with hopes to be able to reopen our doors and our website is always up to date."
Grand Rapids Community College also sent out an alert to students Sunday evening, stating the Main Campus falls under the boil water advisory.
The alert said all students are encouraged to bring their own drinking water to classes tomorrow, as water fountains on campus will be turned off until the advisory is lifted.
More information is available on the city’s website at grandrapidsmi.gov.
If you have more questions or need to report a water/sewer emergency, contact customer service by dialing (616) 456-3000, or dial 3-1-1 if you are within the city limits.
This is a developing story. We will continue to provide updates on air and online.
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