EAST LANSING, Mich. — On Jan. 11, the City of East Lansing, Meridian Township and the East Lansing-Meridian Water and Sewer Authority (ELMWSA) issued a notice to conserve water due to accidental damage that occurred to one of the main water transmission lines at the ELMWSA plant during construction on Tuesday, January 10.
A contractor was brought in from Wixom to make the emergency repair at the ELMWSA plant. The contractor arrived at 3 a.m. on Jan. 11 and worked throughout the day to prepare for the repair. The contractor resumed work on this repair at 5 a.m. this morning, Jan. 12, and hopes to have the repair completed today. Once the repair is complete, the conserve water notice will be lifted. Another update will be issued within 24 hours.
The following information was released in the original conserve water notice on Jan. 11 and remains in effect. To conserve water, all East Lansing Meridian Water and Sewer Authority (ELMWSA) customers are encouraged to:
1. NOT take baths at this time
2. Limit showers (in frequency and duration) to the greatest extent possible
3. Wait to do laundry and dishes
4. Refrain from all other high uses of water
Am I an ELMWSA Customer? If your water bill comes from Meridian Township or the City of East Lansing, you ARE an ELMWSA customer.
Why do we need to conserve water? One of the main transmission water lines at the ELMWSA plant was accidentally damaged during construction on Tuesday, Jan. 10. This caused ELMWSA to not be able to treat water for the residents of the City of East Lansing and Meridian Township. Safe drinking water is being supplied by Lansing Board of Water & Light. This water supply is already running through the system. Customers do NOT need to go elsewhere to pick up water.
What is being done? We are working to repair the broken water main. However, while this repair occurs, there is limited water supply. To avoid pressure loss in the system, it is important for ELMWSA customers to conserve water until further notice.
Please share this information with other people who drink this water, especially anyone who may not get this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). Post this notice in a public place or distribute copies by hand or mail.
For more information, please contact Joel Martinez of the East Lansing – Meridian Water and Sewer Authority at (517) 337-7535 or jmartinez@elmwsa.com. You can also contact the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Lansing Office at (517) 284-6700. The Water Plant State I.D. # is WSSN 01995.