Gladwin wastewater plant knocked offline after apparent lightning strike; residents told to stop using bathrooms

The City of Gladwin's wastewater treatment plant is not operating properly following what officials believe was a lightning strike during a thunderstorm on Monday night.

Residents and businesses have been asked to stop using all bathroom facilities — including toilets, sinks and showers — until further notice. City officials warned that continued wastewater use could cause sewage backups.

As of the Tuesday notice, Gladwin's emergency manager was en route to assess the damage and was working with city staff to determine the extent of the problem and restore operations. The city said it would provide updates as more information becomes available.

The outage adds to a string of recent incidents at Michigan water and wastewater facilities. Last year, Michigan State Police and the Great Lakes Water Authority investigated a possible cyberattack targeting a monitoring system at GLWA's Northeast Water Treatment Plant on Eight Mile Road; the agency said water quality at the plant was never compromised.

GLWA has also faced legal fallout from infrastructure failures: a lawsuit filed over 2021 flooding in Detroit and the Grosse Pointes alleged the authority failed to fix problems with two water pumping stations that weren't running at full capacity during a power outage.

And in an earlier incident, a broken mercury thermometer caused a hazmat scare at a Detroit-area treatment plant, though officials said the water supply was never at risk.