Water outage in multiple Oakland County communities after 42-inch main break

The water main break is in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills, where a line had been leaking since May 6, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority.

On Sunday, residents of Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion, Rochester Hills and the northern part of Auburn Hills were told to "restrict their water usage to that which is necessary for hydration, food preparation and basic sanitation for the duration of the emergency. Please do not run dishwashers, washing machines or water your lawn at this time."

Most of these residents only have a trickle coming from their taps anyway, and that must be boiled before use.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said nearly all businesses are closed, except for essential ones.

Speaking live on WWJ Newsradio 950 Monday morning, Barnett suggested residents stay with friends or family in another community, or support the hotels in other cities.

"We've dispersed porta johns around the community as well, and in all our parks," Barnett said. "If toilets aren't flushing in your homes, we know that's a pain point, certainly. We want to take care of that for people as well."

"We're asking for patience and resilience and smiles on people's faces," he added. "We're gonna get through this."

Since the leak was discovered, the authority has been working with the affected communities to reroute water and to avoid a loss of water.. However, the main broke before water was rerouted.

The authority did warn that once the break was fully isolated, Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion and the northern section of Auburn Hills will no longer be receiving water from GLWA and water pressure in those communities would begin to drop.

GLWA has since removed the busted pipe, but officials said Monday that it could be two weeks before full water service is restored.

CEO Sue Coffey said that even when the water is once again flowing, a boil water advisory will remain.

"They'll have to boil water, and that will be longer," Coffee said. '"...Once the pipe gets open like this, it's gotta be disinfected once you put it back in, and flushed and tested. And, not just our pipe, but through the communities. Because that water travels out through the communities."

With water still out in Orion Twp - schools and businesses closed, students volunteer to help hand out water in Lake Orion today. WWJ's @Nightcam Tim Pamplin reports. pic.twitter.com/YDdJBn7rWp

— WWJ 950 (@WWJ950) May 11, 2026

On Sunday, Orion Township and the Village of Lake Orion issued this alert to local residents" "We need the water in our water tower to last as long as possible, typically that is less than one full day. We need to stretch it as long as possible. Do not water grass, do not shower, do not do laundry, flush as little as possible. This is a very serious situation for our community and we need to come together on this. Please be patient with our team and each other. Let’s do what we do Orion. We are aware of widespread low water pressure issues across the township. The water dept is addressing the issue, according to the West Bloomfield Police Department."

To assist the impacted communities, three water trucks will be set up to provide residents with one gallon containers of water. These trucks are capable of providing 2,000 one gallon contains in each trip.

The water trucks will be at the following locations:

Orion Township
-- Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Court

Auburn Hills
--Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road

Village of Lake Orion
-- Atwater Park, 426 Atwater Street

The statement from GLWA says because the response plan had been in place since the day the leak was discovered, emergency contractors have already mobilized equipment, and a replacement segment of pipe is already at the break site.