Campus Alert Archive
U-M

Two Pre-Dawn Water Main Breaks Shut Plymouth Road and Trigger a Boil Advisory

MIinfrastructure failureadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Early on March 17, 2025, two water main breaks near Plymouth Road in northeast Ann Arbor prompted University of Michigan emergency alerts and a road closure. DPSS issued an initial alert at 5:03 a.m. EDT and an update at 6:16 a.m. closing Plymouth Road between Huron Parkway and Green Road; the alert was canceled at 10:58 a.m.. The City of Ann Arbor issued a 48-hour boil water advisory that was lifted March 19.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Michigan
Public R1 · MI
~52,000 studentsU-M Emergency Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction87 chars
U-M Emergency Alert: Water main break in the 3000 block of Plymouth Rd. Avoid the area.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reporting that the initial DPSS alert was issued at 5:03 a.m. EDT regarding a water main break in the 3000 block of Plymouth Rd with instructions to avoid the area; the exact wording was not recoverable.
Two separate main breaks occurred near Plymouth Road between Green Road and Huron Parkway early that Monday morning.
UPDATESMS+1h 13m
Approximate reconstruction198 chars
U-M Emergency Alert: All traffic on Plymouth Rd between Huron Pkwy and Green Rd is closed until further notice due to a water main break. Access onto Plymouth Rd from Georgetown Blvd is also closed.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reporting that the 6:16 a.m. EDT DPSS update closed Plymouth Rd between Huron Pkwy and Green Rd and closed access from Georgetown Blvd; the verbatim wording could not be retrieved.
Labeled an update, not an all-clear, because the road remained closed and a boil water advisory was still pending.
ALL CLEARSMS+5h 55m
Approximate reconstruction172 chars
U-M Emergency Alert: CANCELED. The emergency alert for the Plymouth Rd water main break is canceled. Plymouth Rd between Huron Pkwy and Green Rd remains closed for repairs.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from the DPSS news post indicating the emergency alert was canceled at 10:58 a.m. EDT while Plymouth Rd remained closed for repairs; the verbatim wording could not be retrieved.
Treated as the all-clear for the alert itself; the City of Ann Arbor's separate boil water advisory remained in effect until March 19, 2025.
Context

Background

Early on Monday, March 17, 2025, two water main breaks struck Plymouth Road between Green Road and Huron Parkway in northeast Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan's Division of Public Safety and Security issued an initial emergency alert at 5:03 a.m. EDT and an update at 6:16 a.m. closing the road, then canceled the alert at 10:58 a.m. with the road remaining closed for repairs. The City of Ann Arbor issued a 48-hour precautionary boil water advisory for the affected northeast area; testing found no contamination and the advisory was lifted March 19. Plymouth Road reopened to all lanes by the morning of March 18. The episode shows how a utility failure on a campus-adjacent arterial drives a multi-message alert sequence with a clear, timestamped cancellation.
Analysis

Key Findings

Two pre-dawn water main breaks on Plymouth Road triggered U-M emergency alerts at 5:03 a.m. and 6:16 a.m. EDT on March 17, 2025
DPSS canceled the alert at 10:58 a.m. EDT while the road stayed closed for repairs
A 48-hour Ann Arbor boil water advisory was lifted March 19 after testing found no contamination
All three alert texts are honest reconstructions; the official wording could not be retrieved, so none is marked verbatim
Outcome
Plymouth Road reopened by the morning of March 18; boil water advisory lifted March 19, 2025 with no contamination found. No injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Boil water advisory issued around Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor following 2 main breaks - ClickOnDetroit
    clickondetroit.com
  2. Official
    U-M Emergency Alert 03/17 - CANCELED - U-M Division of Public Safety & Security
    news.dpss.umich.edu
  3. Student Paper
    Boil water advisory issued for northeast Ann Arbor following water main breaks - The Michigan Daily
    michigandaily.com
Tags
infrastructure-failurewater-mainboil-water-advisorymichiganadvisory
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion