Farmington Hills

Farmington Hills purchases water from Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). There are two sources of this water; Lake Huron watershed via the Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant in Port Huron and water from the Detroit River via the Springwells Water Treatment Plant.

GLWA's water treatment process is a 24/7 operation managed by highly-qualified and trained professionals. Once water enters GLWA facilities it goes through various treatment levels, including physical screening, filtration and a final quality check before being pumped out of the stations into the distribution system.

There is no lead or copper in the source water and no known lead service lines in the Farmington Hills water system. View the lead and copper results for Farmington Hills.

Lead and copper contamination comes from leaching of plumbing materials. Corrosion control chemicals (phosphate) are added to the water at the treatment plant to minimize leaching into drinking water.

If you have lead or copper plumbing materials in your home you can minimize consuming water containing leached plumbing materials by doing the following:

• Use cold water for drinking and cooking
• Flush your faucet if not used for more than 6 hours
• Clean out your faucet aerators on a regular basis
• Consider replacing your faucet if older than 2014. Faucets newer than 2014 are considered lead free (less than 0.25% lead allowed).

The State's Lead and Copper Rule requires that water operators create a plumbing material inventory. If you know what your in-home plumbing material is, please call 248-452-9158 or email wrcwater@oaklandcountymi.gov.

More information about lead can be found at michigan.gov/mileadsafe.

The City of Farmington Hills contains 8 pressure districts. Each residents water pressure is dependent on the elevation and which pressure district the home resides in.

Please call 248-452-9158 or email wrcwater@oaklandcountymi.gov for more information.

Discolored water occurs when normally settled sediment on the bottom of the watermain gets stirred up. This can happen when sprinklers are turned on in the spring or when a fire hydrant is used. Water maintenance staff flush and sample hydrants after main breaks, which can also cause discolored water. This water is not a health risk, but we do understand it is unpleasant.

The best thing you can do is to refrain from using the water inside your home until the system settles down again. Typically, the water will settle after about two hours. To prevent the discolored water from flowing through your entire system:

• Run cold water at an outside hose bib or at a faucet near your water meter until it clears.
• Then flush the faucets inside your home from the one closest to your meter and out.

Outdoor water use consumes a large volume of water. There are ways to reduce and use the water wisely.

• Sweep driveways, sidewalks and steps rather than hosing them off.
• Control hose flow with an automatic shutoff nozzle, remove nozzle after use.
• Wash vehicles where run off is utilized by plants rather than discharging into storm drains.
• Use mulch around trees, shrubs and in the garden.
• Use plants that are adapted to our location, they require less water.

• There are no known lead service lines in the Farmington Hills water supply system (WSSN 2240).
• Oakland County/WRC has been involved with the Farmington Hills water system since 1957. The first water tap was completed in 1958.
• Residential water service lines are typically one inch or smaller. Oakland County standards required copper as the service line material since 1957 for water service lines with a diameter of two inches or less. 
• High density polyethylene (HDPE) was allowed as a service line material, along with copper, starting in 2015. 
• The City of Detroit Plumbing Code stopped allowing lead water services in 1945. Farmington Hills adopted the City of Detroit Plumbing Code into its ordinances in 1957. 
• Lead was banned as a water service line material in Michigan in 1988.
• Please visit oaklandcountymi.gov/watermap to view the best available information about your water service line material.