MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Earlier this morning, a water main break was discovered on Grand River Avenue near Central Park Drive and Dobie Road across from the Fox Nissan dealership.

The water for residents in the area was not shut off when the break was found. However, water pressure may have been reduced to users who are serviced by the main.

Derek Perry, Assistant Meridian Township Manager and Director of Public Works and Engineering explained what could have caused the main to break this morning.

"Well the actual main is actually 50 years old," Perry said. "In fact, it was installed in January of 1968 according to our records. So, age definitely had a factor to play in there, but a lot of it has to do with environmental factors. There could be localized corrosion; we actually won't know exactly, sure, until we get down to the main and are able to look at it, but typically, sometimes it'll be age or corrosive soils or there may be just the general freeze and frost cycle that Michigan has and sometimes if there's a stone or a rock that works against the main, it can just cause a break over time." 

Water service will be interrupted for properties located along Grand River Avenue from Okemos Road to Central Park Drive beginning at 1:30 pm this afternoon. This interruption is anticipated to last around two hours. Once the main has been fixed, service for those residents will be reestablished. All customers that will be impacted should have been notified earlier this morning.

The water main break is also causing traffic to be shifted on Grand River Avenue between Central Park Drive and Washington Heights until it has been fixed.