Auburn Hills, MI – Officials from Orion Township, the City of Auburn Hills, and the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) are providing updates on the significant water main break affecting parts of these northern Oakland County communities early Sunday morning.
The information below is a breakdown of some of the major points from the 10:00 AM press conference, shared with media members and the community, which was also streamed on the Orion Township Facebook Page.
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- The water main break happened at 1:30 AM Sunday morning, May 10, 2026, at River Woods Park, just south of M-59 in Auburn Hills.
- The water main that was affected is a 42-inch transmission line.
- Water drained from River Woods Park onto the road to help with the immediate flooding caused by the break.
- Communities impacted by this water main break are: Auburn Hills, Orion Township, and the Village of Orion.
- Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett stresses to residents that “This is not a Drill” when talking about the severity of the situation impacting the water supply of the area impacted by the water line break.
- This water main break is impacting 10,000 customers, not just 10,000 people. In this example, 5 people living in a house are considered 1 customer.
- Water is becoming a scarce resource in these areas, as the Orion Township Water Tower, which had 2.5 million gallons, which equates to 44.5 feet of water before the break, is down to 33 feet of water as of 10:00 AM Sunday Morning, and continuing to fall.
- GLWA says relief could involve a 2-week recovery process.
- Lake Orion Community Schools have announced that all schools in the district are closed both Monday and Tuesday due to the water main break.
- The most vulnerable people impacted as part of this break are younger people in the community, as well as senior residents. Plans are being put in place to evacuate senior residents living in homes in the affected area due to the projected length of the water outage.
- Three (3) drinking water stations are available for the community to pick up water if needed:
- Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Court, Orion Township
- Atwater Park, 426 Atwater Street, Lake Orion
- Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road, Auburn Hills
- A Boil Water Advisory is in effect for the City of Auburn Hills, North of Cross Creek Parkway and University Drive.
- An emergency water use order is in effect for the entire City of Auburn Hills, as outlined on a Facebook Post made earlier Sunday morning from the Auburn Hills Police Department.
- The risk of contamination in the water due to the break is low, but the elderly and young children should be mindful during this time.
- A leak was discovered in the water line involved in the break on May 6th.
- The water pipe involved in the break was installed in 1975, and officials do not know why the line broke or were not expecting it to break.
- Officials still have to isolate the break in the line, which is difficult to do.
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been in contact with officials in the area, as well as been in touch with Senator Elisa Slotkin.
Officials tell WDIV Local 4 News that further updates will be posted on their respective Facebook pages, and they will let us know if another press conference will be held regarding the water main break.
This is a developing story. Stay with WDIV Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com for the latest information as we receive it.
Local 4’s Kyla Russell is working on this story and will have an update Sunday evening, beginning on Local 4 News at 6:00 PM.