Majority of Novi under boil water advisory after water main break in Farmington Hills

The majority of the city of Novi is now under a boil water advisory Monday following a water main break in Farmington Hills on March 7.

“As (the Great Lakes Water Authority) restores water service to Novi and water pressures are improving (though may not yet be at full strength and could fluctuate due to the demand on the system), all of those impacted by the water outage (unless on a well) are under a Boil Water Advisory until further notice,” a city representative said in a Facebook post. 

City workers were alerted to the water main problem at 4:30 a.m. March 7, according to Sheryl Walsh-Molloy, communications director for the city of Novi.

“Early this morning, alarms alerted our team of a water pressure loss from the Great Lakes Water Authority transmission lines,” a city representative posted on Facebook Saturday.

GLWA workers were called in to investigate and repair the situation. At 6:55 a.m. Saturday, they were able to confirm that there was a break in a 48-inch transmission main at 14 Mile Road and Verona Street, which is between Drake and Farmington roads in Farmington Hills.

“Crews are working to isolate the break in Farmington Hills and pressurize an alternate water system,” according to the city’s Facebook post. Drivers should avoid the area of 14 Mile Road and Verona Street.

The water main break resulted in approximately 75% of the city of Novi being without water, according to Walsh-Molloy, for more than 24 hours. She said that not only residential homes, but also the hospital, the mall and local hotels were affected. 

The lack of water also forced the cancellation of many events planned at city and school buildings on Saturday. This included all events planned at the Novi Civic Center, Lakeshore Park Building, Parkview Elementary, and Novi Meadows Elementary.

However, the Maplefest fundraiser at MSU’s Tollgate Farm was able to proceed as planned. According to Hannah Sentgerath, communications coordinator for Tollgate Farm, officials went to a lot of lengths to make sure it was safe to open for the annual festival. 

She said they purchased water in both bottles and gallon sizes to ensure that they had water that was safe to drink and mix into the pancake batter. They also set up hand-washing and hand sanitizer stations, as well as brought in a bathroom trailer.

“We also had to get approval from the health inspector before moving forward with opening operations this morning,” Sentgerath said on Saturday.

According to the city’s Facebook post, the Great Lakes Water Authority was able to reconfigure the regional system’s Haggerty Road Pump Station late Saturday, allowing water pressure to build in the regional system.

 However, a malfunctioning valve was discovered and caused the filling process to take longer than expected. 

“We apologize to the residents and businesses of Novi for this further delay and for the fact that after 24 hours they remain out of service,” Suzanne R. Coffey, GLWA CEO, said in a city of Novi Facebook post. “We are working as quickly as possible to fully isolate portions of the system so that we can continue our efforts to ensure that Novi residents have water as soon as possible today.”

According to the post, crews worked to isolate portions of the system to build pressure faster. 

The city was expected to have full water pressure by noon on Sunday, March 8.

At 8:39 a.m. Sunday, the city posted that GLWA was reporting that water was entering Novi’s system and that pressures were beginning to increase. 

The repair to the 20-foot section of the water main was completed on Monday afternoon, according to a press release from the GLWA. However another problem with the water main was discovered during the repair process. 

“After an inspection of the main on either side of the current break area, an additional 20-foot section of distressed main 80-feet west of the current break was identified and will be replaced this week,” a GLWA representative said in a press release.

Novi has begun the process required to lift the boil water advisory. The city is flushing its system, and the first of two required rounds of water testing will be taken today, according to the GLWA press release. The second round will be taken 24 hours later. 

“If both rounds of testing come back clear, it is anticipated that the boil water advisories could be lifted by mid-week,” the GLWA release said. 

 In addition to the boil water advisory, residents affected by the water main break are also under a water-use restriction and asked to avoid washing clothes and to take shorter showers to avoid overuse of the water. 

The city is also advising residents to store water in case another problem arises with the city’s water supply.

“The system is stable, but it’s a good idea to fill your bathtub or other containers with water as a backup supply in case service is interrupted again,” said a city representative in a post Sunday.

As this is the second major water main break the city has had in the last six months, Novi Mayor Justin Fischer  requested that a GLWA representative attend the City Council meeting on March 9 to explain the situation and address questions and concerns from the council. 

According to the City Council agenda, Coffey will be making an appearance at the meeting to present “the Great Lakes Water Authority’s incident response update on the March 7, 2026 Novi water service disruption and ongoing restoration efforts.”

The City Council Meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Novi Civic Center, 45175 W. 10 Mile Road.