FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — A water main break Saturday morning in Oakland County flooded streets and basements, forcing some residents to evacuate and leaving others to assess heavy damage to homes and personal belongings.
Residents said police woke them in the early hours as water from a failed main surged into neighborhoods near 14 Mile Road at Verona.
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“I mean it was a crazy experience. Honestly we woke up at 4 in the morning to the police telling us we need to get out of the house. The house is flooding and we just got to evacuate,” said Evan Thomas.
Authorities said the break involved a massive water main associated with the Great Lakes Water Authority.
Neighbors described mounting frustration as water threatened recent repairs and renovations.
“We’re pretty upset because we just had our basement redone and as the water grows, we’re thinking it might affect all the work we had done,” said Jeffrey Olstein.
According to the Farmington Hills Superintendent of Public Works, this isn’t the first time the water main has failed.
“I know our engineering team and our team is looking into it. The public works side, we’re not as involved with the water main side as it related to that, but I know our team is looking into it,” said Derrick Schueller, Farmington Hills Superintendent of Public Works.
Homeowners pressed for quick answers and action as they made emergency plans for the coming hours.
“They need to get it under control,” said Thomas.