A 6-inch water main broke early Tuesday in Clermont, hampering water service for area residents in predawn hours.

Gainesville Public Utilities workers were able to shut off water and restore service within a few hours, said Kelly Randall, public utilities director.

“We think it was a water (pressure surge) because the top of the pipe blew out,” Randall said. “You can kind of tell by the way the pipe breaks as to what the cause was.”

He didn’t know how many customers were affected.

Near-freezing temperatures overnight Monday weren’t a factor.

However, every year around October, “We get more water main breaks than any other time of the year,” Randall said. “It’s like the ground is shifting around as it cools off.”