Resident no longer need to boil water in Orion Township, Lake Orion, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township as of Saturday, May 16, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority. However, residents should take a number of steps to remove old water from their systems and appliances before resuming consumption, according to the Oakland County Health Department.
The communities went under a boil water advisory Sunday, May 10, after a 42-inch water main broke in River Woods Park in Auburn Hills.
Before resuming normal consumption of the water, homeowners should flush the old water out of their systems, according to the Oakland County Health Department.
To flush the water, the Health Department says to:
The Health Department also recommends clearing out hot water pipes and water heaters of untreated water by running the water at all faucets until water runs cool, which usually requires 15 minutes for a typical household 40 gallon hot water tank and 30 minutes for a hot water tank greater than 40 gallons.
Additional steps recommended by the Health Department include replacing filters and checking how to flush water from appliances including dishwashers, refrigerators, water softeners, humidifiers and more.
Full instructions by the Oakland County Health Department can be found here.
The lifting of the boil water advisory comes after required water quality testing on GLWA’s regional water transmission system as well as on the local water systems of Orion Township, Auburn Hills, the Village of Lake Orion, and Rochester Hills came back clear, according to a GLWA news release on May 16.
Originally, authorities estimated residents could be without water for up to two weeks after the water main break. Water was restored by Wednesday, May 13. The boil water advisory lift comes days after that.
Throughout the week, GLWA’s three water trucks stationed in impacted communities provided 31,700 individual gallons of water, according to the GLWA.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Boil water advisories lifted after water main break in Oakland County
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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