DRY clay soil below ground was suspected to have caused a major watermain break on Rowan Street on Wednesday, according to North East Water.

North East Water’s Wangaratta-based reticulation team responded to the break near the Orwell Street intersection around 3pm and worked on repairs for more than six hours.

A North East Water spokesperson said the road surface in the area was affected due to the partial flooding and it had been temporarily patched as it awaits full resurfacing next week.

North East Water’s environment, systems and operations general manager, John Day, said the movement of continued, drying clay soil affecting below-ground pipes is suspected to have caused the break.