MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Thousands of residents and business owners in Muskegon Heights were left without safe water Wednesday as a boil water advisory was put into effect after a system failure caused a drop in water pressure. City officials said the advisory may be in effect for 72 hours.
Many went to City Hall looking for answers and stopped at distribution sites that were giving out free water.
“We can't take baths, we can't cook because some people cook, well a lot of people cook with water, you have to rinse your meat and stuff off, so hopefully everything will be fine Friday,” resident Trena Richardson said.
Some Muskegon Heights residents lined up for free water, while others decided those lines were too long so they headed to local stores.
“Water was being given at the Summit location and I said there's no way I’m standing in that long line, so we went to Walmart to get some water and we'll be alright,” resident Ron Hayward said. "We can deal with it but hopefully they will work 24 hours a day to get it fixed the quicker, the better.”
At Corine’s Cakes and Catering, a mobile sink allowed employees to stay on the job. Even though the Muskegon Heights business owner is celebrating her 52nd birthday, Corine Rose decided she had to adjust her festive plans to ensure the safety of her employees and customers.
“I wanted to stay at home because it’s my birthday today, but I came on in here and we got all our procedures under the way with the water,” Rose said. "We got our hand sink together and safety procedures, how are we going to wash our dishes, and we just made sure all of that everything was done properly. It's a lot to make sure it happens, lot of training and double checking.”
One distribution center said they estimated more than 500 people showed up for help. Mayor Pro Tem Ronald Jenkins said it's times like this when the community comes together to support one another that makes a difference.
“It’s an honor, it's a blessing that we were able to give back to the community and be open to allow citizens that are in need of water,” Jenkins said. "It's a crisis for all of us at this time and this is what Muskegon Heights is about, this is what our citizens are about, we come together when we need to."
Residents like Trena Richardson are just thankful the city was able to hand out free water while they work to restore safe water.
“We are all trying to do the best we can, and the city is giving us water trying to provide us with it until the water is safe so hopefully everything will be okay,” Richardson said.
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