WATERVILLE — Flooding from a broken water main on Silver Street on Easter Sunday was an “act of God” and not negligence on the part of the Kennebec Water District, the district’s general manager said Wednesday.

Businesses that experienced damage from an estimated 2.5 million gallons of water that flushed into the buildings must have their own flood insurance or handle repairs on their own, KWD General Manager Jeffrey LaCasse said.

LaCasse said a letter is being drafted to the affected business owners telling them who the district’s insurer is and to get both sides talking to clarify information on liability and coverage.

“There’s no reason we would have known that that main was going to fail and there wasn’t anything we could have done to prevent it,” LaCasse said. “So there is immunity under the Maine Tort Claims Act.

“It was — and I hate to use the expression — an act of God.”

LaCasse said cause of the water main break was a failure of materials, not a failure of people not doing their job.

Several businesses were flooded, closing the Midnight Blues Club, Steve’s Restaurant and the Last Unicorn restaurant for at least on day.

Other businesses, including the Speak Easy jazz club, which has yet to open, were more heavily damaged.