DETROIT – Thousands of people flock to Detroit every year as the city rolls out the red carpet for the North American International Auto Show. But this year, a water main break has complicated the event.
The entire downtown corridor is under a boil water advisory after a water main break early Sunday morning at McDougall and Larned streets.
UPDATE: Boil water advisory lifted in Downtown Detroit
Residents and businesses in the area east of the John C. Lodge Service Drive, west of Mount Elliot Street, between I-75 and the Detroit River, are impacted.
The water main break has forced workers at Savannah Blue in Detroit to put pots of boiling water next to bottled spring water.
"This is for cooking and this is for sanitation," chef Chris McClendon said.
Those are the tools of the trade when the water isn't safe to drink.
"As a chef in Detroit, (when) we have issues, we rise to the occasion," McClendon said. "We don't run from it."
With thousands of auto show visitors flying into Detroit, a boil water advisory was an unexpected challenge as Savannah Blue workers prepared.
Outside the Cobo Center, visitors from around the world knew about the advisory as soon as they walked into their hotels. Many said the boil water advisory has done little to dampen the moods of people excited to explore the city.
You can watch Priya Mann's full story in the video posted above.