A water main break in Oakland County could leave some residents without water for up to two weeks, after a 42-inch transmission main failed in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills in the early hours of Sunday, May 10. Officials in Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion, the City of Rochester Hills and the northern section of Auburn Hills were told to use water only for essential needs.
At a 10 a.m. news conference Sunday, Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said, “This is not a drill. This is a very serious situation and we need your attention,” warning that repairs could take 10 to 14 days. He also said assisted living sites and nursing homes were being moved out of the community to other locations, and the township asked all businesses to immediately stop using water on Mother’s Day.
The break hit a system already under strain. The Great Lakes Water Authority said the 42-inch main had been found leaking on Wednesday, May 6, and crews were trying to reroute water to avoid a total loss before the line broke. By Sunday, the authority had isolated the break and was removing standing water from the site before repairs could begin.
Orion Township declared a state of emergency, and officials said its water tower, which holds roughly 2.5 million gallons, carries about one day’s worth of water for the community. Suzanne Coffey described the situation as an “incredible challenge” and said it was “very likely” the township would be out of water on Sunday. The township said repair work would be extensive and could take about 10 to 14 days to restore service.
Auburn Hills also declared a state of emergency and issued a mandatory boil water advisory for the area north of Cross Creek Parkway and University Drive, including the northwest portion of the city. Rochester Hills residents in the northwest portion of the community were also under a boil water advisory, while the city issued emergency water restrictions. The Great Lakes Water Authority sent out three water trucks to provide one-gallon containers of water to each resident.
Lake Orion Community Schools will be closed Monday as the outage and emergency response continue to ripple across the region. Barnett said he “will be demanding every resource available” to help Orion Township, but the larger question is not whether the response is serious. It is whether the damaged main can be repaired before the community runs through the little water it has left.
