The site of the break, on Rumson Place at West Lake Road, in Little Silver. The homes in the immediate area, which are served by Red Bank municipal water, were unaffected by the outage. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A water main break in Little Silver disrupted service to users in at least three towns early Saturday.

The rupture of a 36-inch New Jersey American Water Company main on Rumson Place in Little Silver was expected to take up to 18 hours to repair, officials said.

A water tanker was brought in from Ramtown in Howell to serve as emergency backup for the Little Silver Fire Department in the event of a fire. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

Meantime, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Rumson and Shrewsbury customers were asked to boil water if they experience low water pressure or upon restoration of a service outage.

Customers affected by the break were also asked to refrain from heavy water usage, such as lawn-watering. An advisory will be issued once service has been restored, the towns said in automate email, phone and text alerts.

An alert on the NJ American website said the outage affected Shrewsbury and Little Silver, but Fair Haven and Rumson police reported outages there as well. Here’s the full text of the water company alert:

Shrewsbury, Little Silver, Boil Water Advisory to start on Jul 2 This is an important message from New Jersey American Water. New Jersey American Water has issued a precautionary Boil Water Advisory for our customers in your area. Due to a large water main break early this morning, you may experience a temporary loss of water pressure or no water as we work on repairs and restore service to the area. While we conduct the required sampling in the local distribution system, you will need to boil your water before consumption. You will receive another message from New Jersey American Water letting you know when this precautionary boil water advisory is lifted. Additionally, you should refrain from any outdoor water usage, particularly lawn irrigation, until further notice. For more information visit our website at www.newjerseyamwater.com, under the Alerts Notifications section, check our Facebook page, or call our customer service center (800) 272-1325. Thank you for your patience as we work to ensure the integrity of the system and the quality of the water.

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment Saturday morning.

The break at about 12:30 a.m. on Rumson Place, at West Lake Road, at the Red Bank border, according to Red Bank police.

Red Bank emergency management director Tommy Welsh, who was on the scene of the break, said the main bypasses a number of Little Silver homes served by Red Bank’s municipal water utility, and that the impact on Red Bank appeared to be on some fire hydrants on Spring Street and Ambassador Drive.

As of 8:45, Red Bank officials were unaware of outages to borough homes, said police Chief Darren McConnell. He said residents who do experience low pressure or outages should contact the police department and follow the boil-water advisory.