Family opens home to Oakland County residents impacted by water main break
While repairs continue on the water main break in Auburn Hills, residents are still being asked to conserve water.
People living in homes connected to the city lines haven't been able to do normal everyday things like taking showers or doing laundry.
The Cox family is leaning on friends with a cottage on Lake Orion that's on well water. When news broke of the water main break on Mother's Day, Kristi Cox says she had a moment of panic.
"Especially as a mom, your mind is running for all the things that are normal every day, and yeah, you do stop and go, 'Okay, how are we going to get through this?'" Cox said.
Luckily, her friend, Jamie Hervey, had a solution. Hervey and her husband, Ryan, opened their home to anyone in need.
"Posted something right away on social media to reach out to friends and family, community members, if they needed a plan B. That we had had them covered," Jamie Hervey said.
"Living in Lake Orion, this is a very tight community. As a father of three daughters, I kind of made the joke. This is maybe the one time in my life that having a well is good for, you know, my girls, but also for when the community, you know, is struggling and needs access to water," said Ryan Hervey.
Similar stories of other homeowners doing the same outreach are a common thread in the community.
"It was surprising to see how many people in Lake Orion are on wells and were willing to say, hey, you know, there's a hose at the end of my driveway. Fill up what you need to fill up and so on," said Scott Cox.
So far, more than a dozen people have visited the Hervey family's cottage to do laundry and take showers.
"Coming here has been really, like, helpful for me to feel clean, because it's like, really disgusting after soccer practice and soccer games and stuff," Lillian Cox said.
It's been uncomfortable for many people, but a good reminder to appreciate modern conveniences like indoor plumbing.
"People used to live without running water, and, you know, it kind of kicks us back to really understanding how vital and important this is of a resource for life and luxury that we've become so accustomed to," Scott Cox said.
These families say they plan to pay it forward to the local businesses forced to shut down.
"It's been sad to go through town and them to be empty. So we said, 'What's the best way that we can support you all during this time?' And it's really, once they are open, we plan to go there, we need to support them," Jamie Hervey said.
