GLWA ACHIEVES ISOLATION ON 48-INCH WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN ON 14 MILE ROAD AT VERONA IN FARMINGTON HILLS; WORKING TO RESTORE WATER PRESSURE/FLOW TO NOVI AND WALLED LAKE

• GLWA’s number one priority is to return water pressure/flow to residents and businesses in Novi and Walled Lake; crews are working 24/7 to help achieve this goal
• Teams are currently working to reverse flows from GLWA’s Haggerty Pump Station so that water pressure can be returned to Novi this evening
• Emergency connections with Commerce Township, Wixom and Walled Lake have been opened and pressure is beginning to be restored to Walled Lake
• Once pressure is restored to Walled Lake and Novi, residents will remain under a Boil Water Advisory until water quality testing is complete
• GLWA Field Service crews isolated the break late this afternoon and are removing water from the break site
• Once water is removed, contractors will dig down to the damaged main and begin replacement

DETROIT – At approximately 4:30 a.m. today, the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) discovered a break on a 48-inch water transmission main on 14 Mile Road at Verona, which is between Drake and Farmington Roads in Farmington Hills.
Late this afternoon, GLWA’s Field Service crews were able to achieve isolation on the 48-inch main. The isolation then allowed crews to begin removing water from the break site so that emergency contractors can begin excavating and removing the damaged main. With crews authorized to work 24 hours, it is anticipated that the pipe will be removed by Sunday morning and the replacement main can then be installed.

Concurrently, GLWA teams have been working to reconfigure the regional system’s Haggerty Pump Station so that the isolated sections of main can be filled, flushed and used to restore water to Novi residents. It is anticipated that water pressure will be returned by 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Also, the reopening of connections between Walled Lake, Wixon and West Bloomfield Township have been completed and water pressure to Walled Lake is currently being restored.

Both Walled Lake and Novi will remain under a Boil Water Advisory until the required two rounds of water quality testing are completed. When water pressure is returned, even if residents are still under a Boil Water Advisory, they should follow the actions noted in this FAQ on Boil Water Advisories.

“Speaking directly to the people and businesses of Novi and Walled Lake, we know that this is not an acceptable situation and it is not the level of service that you expect or deserve. To the people and businesses in the communities of Farmington Hills, Wixom, Commerce Township and West Bloomfield Township, we appreciate your patience as your pressures have been lower than expected and we thank your representatives and water system operators for their efforts and cooperation throughout the emergency,” said Suzanne R. Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, GLWA. “Today we are working as expediently as possible to address the emergency. For the future, we will continue our capital investments in this portion of the system as well as actively communicate with our State and Federal legislators to request additional systemic funding to allow us to inspect our water transmission mains and renew or replace them proactively to stem the tide of these repeated catastrophic pipe failures.”\

GLWA will share more information as it becomes available.