14 Mile 42-inch Water Main Project

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), in collaboration with its member partner communities of Commerce Township, Walled Lake, Wixom and Novi, has developed an action plan to continue building resiliency in the regional system after a 42-inch water transmission main broke on 14 Mile Road, west of M5, at the end of September. This plan was developed based on extensive data garnered from the recent inspection of nearly four miles of this transmission main.

The action plan, which involves both water main replacement and renewal, will occur in three phases over the next seven months, spanning mid-January 2026 through late April, with road restoration expected to be completed by the end of June.  

GLWA estimates that it will be investing $12.8 million in this critical infrastructure resiliency work. Within the last year, GLWA also completed a more than $110 million redundancy loop project in the water transmission system which allowed restoration of water service much more quickly than in previous breaks. 

Project Updates 3/2/26

Our team has made great progress in the field on the 14 Mile 42-inch project. Updates include:

• All 226 sections of new 42” steel pipe have been delivered to site
• 42” pipe open-cut replacement continues on 14 Mile Rd. Approximately 142 pipe segments have been installed = ~3,550 ft of pipe.
• Second open-cut crew completed open-cut pipe replacement within the Novi Rd intersection and is preparing for concrete paving
• Carbon Fiber Reinforcing Polymer (CFRP) crews finishing final location of CFRP pipe repair
• Acoustic Fiber Optic crews will be performing final terminations of the fiber optic cable this week