Water main break floods Detroit street

Residents at Marketplace Court apartments wake to find cars in pool of water

DETROIT – Who needs a car when your street looks like this? You are better off with a boat.

There's a stream running down this street.

"Oh wow. It's water everywhere. It's like a river," said neighbor Gail Moss.

Hundreds of gallons of water were flowing through the Marketplace Court apartments onto Mack Avenue. It continued on to the Interstate, closing down three lanes of I-75.

Moss was not planning to go for a swim this morning.

"Very surprised. Very, very surprised," she said.

A water main break got the water flowing around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. It spilled out onto the street for hours before crews could turn the water off.

"My neighbor called me this morning and told me, 'Girl, look out your window, there's a bunch of water,'" said Mary Bailey.
Bailey had to catch a ride to the other side of the street in her apartment complex. She moved her car to drier ground just after she received a call from her neighbor this morning. She told her other neighbors to do the same.

"I bammed on doors and rang doorbells this morning so my neighbors could move their vehicles," said Bailey.

Water and Sewerage Department crews say when the temperature changes the water main contracts and expands. They say that likely led to the break. With the temperature hovering around 30 degrees Saturday morning, freezing was a big concern.

"It's very bad. The water is up high and you don't want it to freeze, and you definitely can't get out," said Bailey.

Although some drivers braved the high waters, this neighbor decided to leave her car parked.

"I'm going to walk onto my meeting and walk back home," said Moss.

Water crews consider this a medium size water main break. They say they have seen bigger ones than this.