Send us your comments or question. Water to the homes and businesses of more than 4 million people in southeastern Michigan should not be disrupted by the Y2K computer bug, said the head of the city's Water and Sewerage Department. Detroit sells water to 117 communities that make up 42 percent of the state's water customers. If worse comes to worse, I can use rainwater or get some from a nearby stream. The unknown, Gorden said, is the impact of embedded computer chips.
Many chips read dates in only two digits.
The year 1999, for example, is read as 99. So the year 2000 would be read as 00. That can create confusion because a computer won't know if it's the year 2000 or 1900. Gorden said his department will be Y2K-compliant by August, although employees still will search for devices that use embedded chips. Officials in Royal Oak, which buys its water from Detroit, hope their supplier has taken the right steps to prevent a snafu.