SHELBY TWP. (WWJ) -- Bottled water is in high demand in Shelby Township and neighboring communities, with a boil water advisory in effect for more than 133,000 people.
Officials at the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) say it could be two weeks before the advisory, which initially affected for nearly a million people over the weekend, is fully lifted.
Monday morning, WWJ's Charlie Langton said bottled water is disappearing from store shelves in Macomb County.
"It doesn't look like it's gonna be over anytime soon," Langton said, speaking live on WWJ. "...And I'll tell you what, there is a rush now to get bottled water, especially here in Shelby Township."
Some stores are now limiting the amount of bottled water a customer can buy.
At the Meijer at 26 Mile Rd. and Van Dyke — where there's a limit of two cases per customer — Langton said they were almost sold out by around 7 a.m.
Northern Macomb County resident Patrick Tims was able to get his two cases. Will it be enough?
"It's just me and my roommate and my dog, so it shouldn't be too bad," Tims said. "The dogs will be getting more than us!"
The boil water advisory remains in effect for: the Village of Almont, Bruce Township, Burtchville Township, Imlay City, the City of Rochester, Shelby Township and Washington Township. In addition, the advisory is also in place for the Industrial Park in Romeo and one business in Greenwood.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said his office has been working to keep residents updated on the situation, and to dispel misinformation that's been circulating.
He said another chief concern is how to get bottled water to affected residents who need it.
Hackel told WWJ's Erin Vee that county officials have been working with the state on this, and Meijer has been helpful as well.
"The, I guess, main hub for that distribution is coming to us. We're gonna get it out to those local communities, those three communities," he said. "We'll try to find a way of making sure the residents that might need it the most, the vulnerable population, we'll try to get it to them as well."
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As for when it will be safe to drink the water once again in these communities, that's still unclear.
GLWA said it's waiting for parts needed to fix the water main break, and Hackel said those parts are on their way to Metro Detroit from Texas.
"Then probably within the next week they'll have that fixed," he said. "But they're gonna have to do some water testing for the next week after that... So, my guess is probably in the next 10 to 14 days that'll be shored up."
In the meantime, he said: "We're gonna work with those few communities that need water and we're going to try to figure out how do we supply them with it... and that State of Emergency (enacted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer) helped expedite that process."
Shelby Township has enacted a mandatory restriction on all outdoor water use, such as lawn irrigation, in effect since Saturday morning until further notice.
Township Supervisor Rick Stethakis said the good news is that water is again flowing normally from faucets in his community.
"As long as we maintain the existing water pressures — at least here in Shelby Township — we'll be fine," Stethakis told WWJ's Rob Mason. "And of course the way we need to do that is we all need to work together to follow the mandatory outdoor water restrictions that we now have in place."
Stethakis said everyone's cooperation is appreciated.
"It's gonna be a little painful," he added, "but we're gonna get through it."
Stethakis noted that it is considered safe to take a shower in the water. Just boil water and then cool it before using it for drinking, cooking, making ice, washing dishes, or your brushing teeth.
Get more information and the latest updates from the GLWA on this situation at this link.
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