The Great Lakes Water Authority will spend $81 million to tear out and replace the 14 Mile Road water main that has ruptured four times in seven years, most recently in a March emergency that stranded drivers and forced evacuations in Farmington Hills.

GLWA CEO Suzanne R. Coffey announced the two-phase project at a Tuesday, July 21 press conference attended by Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich, Acting City Manager Karen Mondora, and state Reps. Samantha Steckloff and Jason Hoskins.

"There's always breaks and you're not going to hear me give guarantees, but our goal is that this pipe that we see is problematic, it's not gonna be in the system anymore," Coffey said at the press conference.

Phase One begins in mid-November 2026. Crews will rip out three miles of 48-inch prestressed concrete cylinder pipe between Haggerty Road and Farmington Road and replace it with 54-inch steel pipe. GLWA estimates completion in early 2028.

Phase Two covers the next three miles east, from Farmington Road to GLWA's Franklin Pump Station on Inkster Road. Crews will inspect the existing 54-inch concrete pipe, replace damaged segments, and install an acoustic fiber optic monitoring system that detects leaks and wire breaks in real time. GLWA said it was the first Michigan utility to deploy the technology, having installed it on a separate 14 Mile Road section in Novi earlier in 2026.

The pipe, built in the 1970s, stretches roughly six miles from Inkster Road to Walled Lake. When Coffey appeared before the Farmington Hills City Council on March 23, she told members the segment that failed on Saturday, March 7 had been inspected twice since 2017, most recently in 2021, with no defects found. GLWA had already renewed 64 individual pipe segments across the corridor, but the breaks kept coming.

The March 7 rupture at 14 Mile Road and Verona, between Drake Road and Farmington Road, sent water flooding across the roadway. Multiple city departments rescued stranded motorists, evacuated four residences, managed road closures, and cleared debris, according to city council minutes from March 9. Mayor Rich personally visited the four evacuated homes.

GLWA said it expects little to no disruption to household water service during construction. Traffic along 14 Mile Road will be affected, but the authority has not yet released a detour plan. Officials said a traffic plan will be shared well in advance of the November start date.

Public open houses are planned so residents can learn about the project. Dates and locations have not been announced.

Mayor Rich said in the July 21 press release that the March break "left drivers stranded in our city and disrupted service across neighborhoods" and called the GLWA investment "a critical step toward delivering the resilient, safe water systems our residents require."

Residents who want updates on the project can monitor the City of Farmington Hills website at fhgov.com or watch for announcements about upcoming open houses.