Oakland County officials say water pressure is building back up; boil water notices to continue

Water pressure is building back up in the Oakland County, Michigan, communities affected by a 42-inch water main that broke early Sunday and disrupted service.

The communities that either lost water, experienced a loss of water pressure, were placed under boil water advisories or asked to voluntarily limit water use included Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion, Rochester Hills, Pontiac and Auburn Hills.

GLWA and other local authorities provided an update on repairs and restoration on Tuesday morning during a press conference from Orion Township Hall. The Oakland County Health Department plans to give a follow-up report Tuesday afternoon to specifically address logistics and details for restaurants in the affected area.

The Great Lakes Water Authority has been monitoring the water main conditions since Wednesday, when a leak was discovered in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills.  The broken water pipe section was removed early Monday morning. Great Lakes Water Authority CEO Suzanne Coffey said the pipe was about 50 years old, breaking well before its expected 100-year lifespan. 

Coffey said Tuesday that the broken pipe has been replaced and GLWA crews have filled and tested that line.

But there are "many, many steps" that have yet to take place before the regional water service is considered to be operating normally.

"It's going to take the better part of a day to undo what we did to deal with the emergency," she said Tuesday.

Revoking the resulting boil water advisories is a separate process, the officials said. This involves bacteriological testing, which takes time to process. Authorities did not give a firm timeline for revoking those orders, but did say that emergency water pickups will continue through that step.

Here's what you need to know for Tuesday, May 12: 

Schools 

Lake Orion Community Schools are expected to be closed through Thursday. The concern is the lack of restroom facilities at most of the buildings. 

Businesses 

Business operations are on a case-by-case basis, depending on water access to the location. 

Oakland County township supervisor Chris Barnett said Tuesday that restaurants are starting to get permission to re-open, although local officials ask that food service be on carry-out rather than dine-in basis for now. Car washes will be asked to stay off line.  

The Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority and the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce said they are working on a plan to support affected businesses.   

Stellantis said its Chrysler Technology Center, Chrysler Office Building, Featherstone Road Engineering Center and Quality Engineering Center will be open "for essential operations only until further notice." Employees who can work remotely should continue to do so in the meantime. 

The Oakland County Michigan Works! Office encourages workers who are laid off due to the water main break to seek the assistance of their office should they file for unemployment benefits. 

Water supplies 

Multiple water distribution sites opened starting Sunday to provide drinking water to area residents. The services have been in high demand. GLWA said its teams distributed over 7,000 gallons of water on Sunday alone. 

The GLWA teams will be set up from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until further notice at:

• Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Court.
• Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road.
• Atwater Park, 426 Atwater Street.

Oakview Middle School in Lake Orion Community Schools does have water service and is one of the designated areas for residents to visit for restrooms and water filling.  

Local officials also noted that bottled water supplies came from corporate donations and a state contract order.

Boil water advisories  

In areas where a boil water advisory is in effect, the impacted residents should use commercially bottled water or bring tap water to a full rolling boil for one minute, then let it cool before using. 

Getting into specifics: Oakland County health officer Kate Guzman said any water used for coffee machines, infant formula, pet food and similar purposes be boiled before using. Residents and businesses in the boil water region also should not use any ice that was made by an ice maker during the advisory time frame. 

Water restrictions 

Residents in some of the surrounding communities, such as Pontiac, were asked to temporarily limit outdoor water use, such as lawn watering and irrigation to help keep up water pressure throughout the region.

Those speaking at the Tuesday morning press conference said the voluntary cutbacks made a huge difference in spreading out the available water.

Trash pickup

Chris Barnett, Orion Township supervisor, said residents of his community will be allowed to place more bagged trash outside at their next Waste Management pickup day to help handle overflow rubbish from paper plates, etc.

What's next?

The Orion Township supervisor said there will be more discussions in the coming days as to how and why the water main break happened on a line that still had decades left in its expected life span.

CBS News Detroit will continue to follow this story on air, online and on our social media accounts.