GLWA Continues Emergency Response Work on 54-inch Water Main in Southwest Detroit
GLWA CONTINUES EMERGENCY RESPONSE WORK ON 54-INCH WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN IN SOUTHWEST DETROIT
Repairs on GLWA’s 54-inch water transmission main have been completed.
DWSD has completed the repair of its six-inch water main and water quality testing is underway.
DTE Energy is scheduled to repair its gas main the week of March 10.
Sewer cleaning in the impacted area to remove debris created by the break has been completed.
GLWA engineering and operations teams are evaluating the best next steps to ready the 54-inch transmission main for service.
DETROIT – The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) continues its critical role as a part of the broader emergency response to a break on a 54-inch steel water transmission main at Beard and Rowan in Southwest Detroit that occurred in the early morning hours of Monday, February 17, 2025.
GLWA crews and contractors have completed the repair of the 54-inch transmission main. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) has also completed the repair of its six-inch water main that was damaged in the original main break, and the required water quality testing will be complete by the end of this week. GLWA and DWSD have also completed the cleaning of sewers in the impacted area to remove debris created by the break.
DTE Energy crews are scheduled to complete the repair of its damaged gas line the week of March 10, 2025.
With the repair of the 54-inch main complete, GLWA’s engineering and operations teams are evaluating the full length of the main to determine the best next steps to ready it for service.
More updates will be provided as they become available.
Residents impacted by the water main break can call (313) 774-5261 to be connected to emergency resources through the City of Detroit.
Jody Caldwell
Chief Planning OfficerJody Caldwell is the Chief Planning Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority. Mr. Caldwell brings over two decades of private consultation, municipal operations and maintenance, asset management, and strategic planning experience within the water sector. In the Chief Planning Officer role with GLWA, he supports the asset management, capital improvement planning, water and wastewater analytics, planning and metering, systems planning and member outreach groups.
Prior to this role, Mr. Caldwell was the Asset Management Director for the enterprise-wide asset management group within GLWA for over five years. He helped to support functional areas by coordinating overall asset management strategies, objectives, and activities to ensure decisions are informed by risk, regional needs, and life cycle considerations.
Prior to his service with GLWA, Mr. Caldwell was a Chief Engineer at Oakland County’s Water Resources Commissioner’s Office where he worked for 12 years in many different capacities. In that role, Mr. Caldwell was responsible for oversight of multiple areas including capital, asset management and planning, finance and budgeting, water operations and maintenance, water engineering, and cross connection control. During his time with WRC, Mr. Caldwell worked closely with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and GLWA. He was the Oakland County representative on the DWSD Board of Water Commissioners, served as the water technical advisory committee and wastewater steering committee co-chairs, and was an important part of the DWSD-GLWA transition effort.
Mr. Caldwell is a registered professional engineer in the state of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University.