Letter from Mayor Eugene Hawkins, III

To the Auburn Hills Community –

On Saturday, May 16th at 10:20 AM, we were pleased to announce that the boil water advisory had been lifted for all of Auburn Hills, as well as the Emergency Use of Water Only restriction. This comes less than one week after the Great Lakes Water Authority’s (GLWA) major water main burst in the middle of the night on Sunday at about 1:30 AM in our River Woods Park. As soon as the water main burst, both Auburn Hills and GLWA staff sprang into action. Emergency personnel immediately responded to the scene, GLWA shut off the water supply to this section of their water main, water drained from the road and the surrounding areas, and Auburn Hills declared a State of Emergency, establishing a boil water zone north of Cross Creek Parkway/University and an emergency use of water only notice to the entire city.

As I reflect on all that occurred over the last week, I feel incredibly fortunate. Fortunate that we have such a dedicated group of emergency personnel working for our city, tasked with ensuring safety for all of Auburn Hills. Our staff confirmed that no one was injured during the incident Sunday morning.

We are fortunate that the water main break occurred in River Woods Park. The break could have just as easily occurred in a densely populated residential or commercial zone causing further destruction and prolonging GLWA’s ability to access the water main for necessary repairs. Restoration at River Woods Park is still ongoing, though I would strongly encourage our community to visit and enjoy the scenes River Woods Park has to offer once it is open again to the public.

I am fortunate to live in a community that understands the individual sacrifice required for the good of the greater community. I feel fortunate that our residents and businesses cooperated with water use restrictions, ensuring we were able to maintain enough of a water supply so our entire community could still access the system for basic hygiene and sanitation. Imagine if the Emergency Use of Water Only notice was largely ignored, individuals maintained water usage as normal, and our water supply failed to meet even basic sanitation needs. Our community would not let that happen.

Finally, I am fortunate that I get to call myself the mayor of such a resilient community. It is a privilege to serve all of you. I speak for the entire city staff and elected officials, when I say that you remind us all why we got into public service in the first place.

Eugene Hawkins, III
Mayor