Water Emergency in Auburn Hills, Orion, and Rochester Hills - ONGOING UPDATES - California News Beep

Water Emergency in Auburn Hills, Orion, and Rochester Hills – ONGOING UPDATES

(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 10, 2026)

Auburn Hills, Orion Township, Lake Orion, and Rochester Hills, MI – Residents and businesses in Orion Township, including the Village of Lake Orion, as well as Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills are facing a water emergency following a water main break early Sunday morning.

In Orion Township and northern Auburn Hills, water supply is limited and expected to cease within hours. An outage could last for two weeks or more as crews work to replace the water main. Residents in Rochester Hills are asked to conserve water and those in the northern portion are under a boil water advisory until further notice due to declined pressure.

Neighboring communities, including Oxford, Clarkston, and Pontiac are not served by the impacted water main and as of Sunday morning their service is not impacted.

RESOURCES

Here are resources. Below are sections for updates for each impacted community:

AUBURN HILLS

The City of Auburn Hills shared this press release:

Earlier this morning, at about 1:30 am, a major water main burst within the City of Auburn Hills. This water main is a Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) 42” transmission line located within the city’s River Woods Park (Squirrel Rd. south of M-59). Emergency personnel and city staff immediately responded to the scene of the break, which caused significant flooding within the park and on Squirrel Rd. GLWA was able to shut off water to this section of the main transmission line and water was able to be drained from the road. Emergency personnel confirmed that no one was injured during this incident. Squirrel Rd. was temporarily shut down for a period of time but has since reopened to traffic. River Woods Park will remain closed until further notice while GLWA completes the necessary repairs.

GLWA is a regional supplier of municipal water in Auburn Hills, particularly in the north end of the city. Due to the nature of this water main break the City of Auburn Hills has declared a State of Emergency. Residents and businesses shall only use water for emergency purposes. For all areas within the city limits, north of Taylor Road, water is currently being supplied by a municipal water tower, however this may not last until repairs are completed. In this area of the city, water may eventually run out. For areas south of Taylor Road the use of water for emergency purposes only is also in effect, as alternative resources are being utilized to provide water in this area of the city.

A MANDATORY BOIL WATER ADVISORY has been issued for all areas of the City of Auburn Hills, north of Cross Creek Parkway/University Drive. Residents and water users should not drink the water without boiling it first.

A water truck is available at Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road

ORION TOWNSHIP and VILLAGE OF LAKE ORION

Orion Township issued an emergency alert just after 2am stating:

The water main that feeds Orion Township and the Village of Lake Orion has broken. While there is water in the water tower, residents and businesses should NOT USE water except when absolutely necessary effective IMMEDIATELY as no water will be available until repairs are made, which will likely take several days. Water distribution locations for drinking water will be available shortly. More updates as we have them.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett is urging residents and businesses to conserve water. “We need the water in our water tower to last as long as possible, typically that is less than one full day. We need to stretch it as long as possible. Do not water grass, do not shower, do not do laundry, flush as little as possible. This is a very serious situation for our community and we need to come together on this. Please be patient with our team and each other. Let’s do what we do Orion. We got this.”

On Saturday both Auburn Hills and Orion Township shared information to help people prepare for a service interruption. The problem comes from a 42 inch water main located in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills that had been leaking. A new section of pipe has been brought in and replacement is in progress, though it could take two weeks or more.

“Residents are encouraged to check on neighbors, particularly those who may need assistance, and to coordinate support where possible. Nearby communities, including Clarkston and Oxford, are currently not impacted and may be available as additional resources,” the Orion Township press release states.

Lake Orion Schools has shared that they will be closed Monday and Tuesday due to not being able to use restrooms. Further updates will be forthcoming.

ROCHESTER HILLS

Rochester Hills residents in the northwest portion of our community are now under a Boil Water Advisory as the once leaking Great Lakes Water Authority main in Auburn Hills has now broken.

Our system is currently stable because we switched into our emergency operational state, however the drop in pressure during that transition necessitates the Boil Water Advisory.

Effective immediately, the City of Rochester Hills is also issuing an emergency water restriction for ALL residents and businesses. Residents and water users should eliminate water use for non-necessary uses such as running dishwashers, washing machines, watering lawns, washing vehicles, filling outdoor pools, or other recreational water activities.

The above actions will help keep water available for all customers in the area, and adjacent cities and townships. You may experience reduced water pressure during this time.

The water trucks, available as soon as possible this morning at the following locations:
Orion Township
• Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Court
Auburn Hills
• Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road
Village of Lake Orion
• Atwater Park, 426 Atwater Street

UPDATE: Great Lakes Water Authority shared information on their website:

To assist the impacted communities, GLWA has sent its three water trucks to the impacted communities to provide residents with one gallon containers of water. These trucks are capable of providing 2,000 one gallon contains in each trip.

The GLWA water trucks will provide water to the impacted communities as long as the emergency water outage continues.

Because the response plan had been in place since the day the leak was discovered, GLWA’s emergency contractors have already mobilized equipment, and a replacement segment of pipe is already at the break site.

Once the break is isolated, crews can excavate the site and remove standing water so that the damaged pipe can be removed and replaced. Once the pipe has been replaced, it can then be filled, disinfected, and flushed. Water quality samples will then need to pass testing before the watermain can be returned to service. At that point, the community’s will need to fill and flush their systems and conduct their own water quality sampling.

At this time, we do not have a firm estimate of when water service will be restored, however residences and businesses should be prepared to be out of water for a minimum of 14 days.

This story is a work in progress and will be updated as more information becomes available.