(WXYZ) — The search will soon begin for the next CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority in the wake of Sue McCormick's resignation.
RELATED: Questions remain after Great Lakes Water Authority CEO Sue McCormick's resignation
We're joined for the 7 UpFront segment by Board Chair for the Great Lakes Water Authority John Zech, who also serves as the representative for Wayne County before the authority.
McCormick's resignation was officially accepted by the board on Wednesday. Zech says the next step is for him and McCormick's management team to decide on a timeline for her departure.
McCormick is leaving from GLWA at a controversial point as an investigation is underway into how an underground power cable was cut days before heavy rainfall came in June, leading to massive sewer backups. McCormick stated that GLWA was unaware of the incident. 7 Action News learned that notice of the cut power cables was only put into a logbook, and top management at GLWA was allegedly never made aware.
"Needless to say, it's a six-member board and all six of us were very surprised, disappointed, perplexed to learn that the cable had been cut," Zech said.
That one incident resulted in power outages and flooded homes in some metro Detroit neighborhoods.
"Unfortunately, we did not know that these pumps weren't going to work, and so we're trying to ascertain our liability, our culpability for this matter," Zech said.
The board has hired a lawyer to do an independent investigation to evaluate "what went wrong, and why did it happen, and how we avoid this from happening again," Zech added.
The board is scheduled to meet again on Aug. 11.
