Overview
- The Great Lakes Water Authority main that burst early Sunday at River Woods Park in Auburn Hills cut service and prompted boil-water advisories and strict conservation across Orion Township, Lake Orion, Rochester Hills and parts of Auburn Hills, affecting roughly 10,000 customer accounts.
- By Monday afternoon, crews had removed the mangled 42-inch pipe section and started installing a new segment, with residents told to prepare for at least 14 days before normal service returns.
- Michigan’s governor declared a state of emergency to unlock aid, and GLWA deployed water trucks distributing one-gallon containers at sites in Orion Township’s Wildwood Amphitheater, Auburn Hills’ DPW on Brown Road, and Lake Orion’s Atwater Park.
- Local leaders ordered nonessential water use to stop, closed some businesses and schools, planned evacuations for care facilities and warned that firefighting could be strained once water towers empty.
- Officials say the failed pipe was installed in 1975 and the cause remains unclear, and even after the new section is in place the system must be disinfected, repressurized and pass lab tests before boil advisories can lift.