NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Businesses in Novi and Walled Lake were forced to close Saturday after a water main break left them without water.
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Some reopened Sunday, but are now operating under a boil water advisory.
Black Rock, a restaurant in Novi, was among the businesses that had to shut its doors Saturday due to the water main break on 14 Mile Road in Farmington Hills.
John Mansfield, the general manager of Black Rock, said his team is now dealing with the challenges of the boil water advisory.
"Because of the boil water advisory, we have to go, we have to buy soft drinks so like lemonade, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, all that stuff. We have to buy ice from the store," Mansfield said.
Despite the disruption, Mansfield said the restaurant felt an obligation to its customers to reopen.
"People come here, they take a leap of faith by driving 45 minutes to an hour… to come to our restaurant so we owe to them to stay open and make sure we give them the food that they're looking for," Mansfield said.
Casey Ambrose, co-owner of Casey's of Walled Lake, issued a statement about the impact of the water main break on his business.
“Once again, our community is forced to navigate the confusion and frustration of a major water main break. As a business owner, we take every necessary precaution to ensure safety and continuity, but these recurring issues place an immense burden on both our residents and our local economy. It is imperative that the WRC and GLWA grasp the disruptive toll these incidents take on Walled Lake.
Suzanne Coffey, CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority, acknowledged the disruption caused by the break.
"This is not the level of service they deserve. This is not the level of service that we expect to provide. So, we are very disappointed that this occurred as well," Coffey said.
Coffey said the boil water advisory for Novi and Walled Lake is expected to remain in effect until the middle of this week, pending the results of required testing.
"They have to take two rounds of samples consecutively to make sure that after they do that flushing that the bacteriological samples come back clean," Coffey said.
Mansfield said he is grateful for customers who have continued to visit the restaurant during the advisory.
"It means so much to us as Black Rock, we've been here for a long time. We really just appreciate the guests and the loyal customers that we have," Mansfield said.
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