West Bloomfield police say it could take four to five days to repair a massive water main break in Farmington Hills that has 12 Oakland County communities on a boil water advisory.
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"Due to the substantial extent of the current water main failure, repairing this problem and placing public water back into service and removing a Boil Water Advisory, it's estimated to take at least 4-5 days in duration in order to make necessary repairs and place the entire at-large water system of West Bloomfield into a no boil water status," police said in a Facebook post.
The Great Lakes Water Authority said a 48-inch diameter water main failed on Friday night. GLWA peronnel are on site to isolate the damaged portion of the main and work to drain the water from the roadway.
At the earliest, the GLWA says they have have a replacement pipe installed by Wednesday night, but they still have to complete two rounds of testing after the replacement.
That means the earliest they plan to lift the boil water advisory is late Friday night on Oct. 27.
The city of Novi is under a complete water shutoff and the city's emergency operations center has been activated.
They are one of 12 communities under the advisory, which also includes Bloomfield Township, Commerce Township, Farmington Hills, Keego Harbor, Novi Township, Oakland Township (specifically Kings Pointe & Hills of Oakland subs), Orchard Lake, Rochester Hills (north of Hamlin, west of Livernois), Walled Lake, West Bloomfield Township and Wixom.
Both Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield and St. John Providence Park Hospital in Novi are closed.
Wixom, Walled Lake, Commerce Township and parts of Novi are located at the end of the main and can't be served water through another part of the GLWA system, meaning they could experience low to no water pressure.
Dozens of schools are closed because of the water main break.
