Thousands without water after Oakland County main ruptures on 14 Mile
Crews expect to be working on Novi water main break for days
Hours after a massive water main break in Oakland County, crews still have not been able to shut off the water spewing from the rupture in Novi. Four communities are without water and boil advisories are in effect.
(FOX 2) - Almost 12 hours since a rupture in a southern Oakland County water main happened, water is still bubbling from the fracture.
Thousands are without water, busy roads are blocked off, and crews are expected to work into the night to isolate the breakage. Only then will they be able to start repairs.
In the meantime, multiple communities are under boil advisories while even more are experiencing a drop in water pressure that could last for days.
As resident Kristin Suero put it: "A majority of these people are going to want to book a hotel room."
What we know:
The communities of Walled Lake and Novi are asking their residents and businesses to boil water before drinking it after a loss of pressure due to a main break Thursday morning.
It happened at a 42-inch water main on 14 Mile, west of M-5.
Meanwhile, Commerce Township and Wixom say their boil advisories have been lifted but residents may still experience a drop in pressure.
The advisories are expected to last a couple of days due to the size of the problem. While crews have managed to isolate most of the valves to turn off water, they haven't locked down everything yet.
Water continues to be pumped out of the problem site and onto the side of the road.
The infrastructure itself was installed in the 1970s, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority. There had been construction in the area a year earlier, but officials say it's not behind the current problem.
What they're saying:
Residents that live nearby described the breakage as like nothing they have seen before.
"There's nothing. You turn it on and all you hear is gurgle gurgle and that's about it," said neighbor.
"This is massive. I'm in shock when I drove my bike down here just to see," said Lou Kisic, who lives nearby. "Everybody in the neighborhood has nothing. It's so widespread. It's even into Walled Lake."
What you can do:
Cities that are affected will post the latest updates for their communities on their sites and social media. For the latest updates:
In the meantime, Novi's public works is making non-drinkable water available to residents until 9 p.m. Residents should bring their own containers.
Drinkable water is available at the ITC Community Sports Park until 9 p.m.
The Source: Previous reporting and updates from affected communities were cited for this story.