A 42-inch water transmission line, which had been leaking for several days, ruptured early Sunday morning and is affecting thousands of residents in northern Oakland County.
The water main break is in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills and had been leaking since May 6th, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority.
Residents of Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion, Rochester Hills and the northern part of Auburn Hills should "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," according to a statement from the authority.
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.
Workers are trying to isolate the broken water main by closing valves to the north and south of the break area.
The authority says once the break is 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 will begin to drop.
The city of Rochester Hills has been placed under a boil water advisory due to the drop in pressure created by the break.
Orion Township and West Bloomfield Township put messages out to residents early Sunday.
The water main that feeds Orion Township and the Village of Lake Orion has broken, a message from Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said. "While there is water in the water tower, residents and businesses should NOT USE water except when absolutely necessary effective IMMEDIATELY as no water will be available until repairs are made, which will likely take several days. Water distribution locations for drinking water will be available shortly. More updates as we have them."
The message also said Team Orion: 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.
There's no time estimate when full water service will be restored.
