There won't be spaghetti added to the boiling water at Nick's Pizza House in Wellesley, Massachusetts, since it's only for washing dishes after co-owner Lucio Dutra got a reverse 911 call from the Health Department earlier Thursday about E. coli contaminating the town's water.
A boil water order is in effect so that no one gets sick from the harmful bacteria, making water fountains, ice machines, and sinks off limits for drinking, washing dishes or preparing food.
Hand sanitizer is safe and so is bottled water.
"It's the first time it's ever happened since I've been in town and it's almost 30 years. I think these things happen occasionally. It's an inconvenience," Wellesley resident Drew Knowland said.
What's known is the origin, the 4 million gallon underground water tank at Peirce Hill. However, what's not known is the cause of the fecal coliform that was discovered in a routine weekly water sample. Public works crews will continue to flush the lines through the night.
The news trickled down to the workers at Subway at an inopportune time.
"Very inconvenient and it happened right during lunch at 12. We had like 30 people here," Subway employee Tommy Beach said.
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Perhaps a good sense of humor is needed, as they have at Wellesley Fire headquarters, with a cup on a water cooler.
But for businesses like Nick's Pizza House, it's about good health and about making dough.
"We use the water to make the dough, but to make the dough tomorrow, we're going to buy the gallons of water," Dutra said.
So how soon could this boil order be lifted?
Testing on the water today will be back Friday, but DEP requires a second test, as well, so the earliest would be Saturday.
