HAMILTON — Serving up a cup of coffee or hot dinner left local eateries scrambling, while residents are on edge after learning the town's drinking water may be contaminated with a potentially hazardous chemical.
Hamilton residents and businesses have been coping without using tap water for food or drinks since a test found perchlorate, a chemical that can cause developmental problems and brain damage.
The annual test of the town's wells and treatment plant was done Aug. 13, and results came back last week. The town tested the water again on Thursday and results came back the following day showing no traces of perchlorate.
Click here to see a notice from the Hamilton Water DepartmentHamilton resident Elsa Krachman was upset that it took so long to inform residents.
"To think they had the information for so long and not to have passed it on is crazy," Krachman said. "Now people are all worried."
Krachman suggested a better system to get the word out, such as reverse 911, but that's a service only the schools have.
John Tomasz, the head of the Water Department, said the town sent out notices to every household Friday as soon as the state Department of Environmental Protection told it to.
"We got it out as fast as we could," Tomasz said. "We had to follow DEP guidelines."
Perchlorate can affect the thyroid and is most dangerous to fetuses and infants as it can cause developmental problems and even brain damage.
It's a by-product of jet fuel and fireworks, and it can also come from a chemical the town uses to disinfect water.
The notice advises residents not to drink the tap water. It says a School Street well had 44 parts per billion and the Idlewood Water Treatment Plant had 32 parts per billion of perchlorate.
The maximum amount allowed under Massachusetts guidelines, the most stringent in the country, is 2 parts per billion.
The well has been shut down while the Idlewood Treatment Plant, which collects water from two separate wells, is still operating.
Those concerned about health effects should call their doctor, according to the notice.
Meanwhile, businesses that use water to prepare coffee or cook food have to adjust.
Adam Bouchard, one of the head chefs at Indigo Bar and Grill at the Shoppes at Hamilton Crossing, was forced to throw out thousands of dollars' worth of prepared food at 5 p.m. Friday when he learned of the possible water contamination from the Health Department.
The restaurant was told to throw out any food that was cooked in water or could absorb it, and that meant a case of ribs, chicken and veal stocks, mashed potatoes, potato salad, pasta, and all of the lettuces and pizza dough.
Bouchard said the restaurant was forced to entirely revamp its menu and is trying out a new menu made with locally grown food from area farms. It's also shipping in water from its sister restaurant in Manchester, Cala's.
Christine Kearley, the manager at Dunkin' Donuts, has been transporting two to three large-size containers filled with hot coffee and ice coffee as well as ice from the Ipswich location.
"Our coffee makers are hooked so they pull water from the water supply and there's no way we can use anything else," Kearley said.
By 11 a.m. yesterday, she was making her third 10- to 15-minute drive to Ipswich to keep up with customers' demand. Kearley said local customers who know of the water restrictions are understanding when they are told there is no coffee. But customers visiting from out of town are in disbelief.
Taylor Made Sweets, an ice cream shop next to the Dunkin' Donuts, posted a notice on the door alerting customers coffee was made using spring water.
Robin Green, the owner of Henderson's Cafe in Wenham near the Hamilton line, added a message on a placard on Route 1A telling motorists her coffee is made with "Wenham water."
"It's the topic of conversation yesterday and today; everybody's talking about it," Green said.
Throughout the holiday weekend, the town has been taking samples of the water every day, and tomorrow, the samples will be sent out to labs to test for perchlorate.
Tomasz said the high levels of perchlorate could mean one of three things: there is perchlorate in the water; the Aug. 13 lab work was done in error; or the sodium hypochlorite, which is used to disinfect the water, generated perchlorate. Sodium hypochlorite can generate perchlorate if it is stored for too long.
The town typically uses its stock of sodium hypochlorite within a week, but it may have received an old batch, he said. He hopes the results from the water samples taken over the weekend will show the water is safe.
The Hamilton water supply serves about 2,400 households. The town had problems with its water in 2004 when dangerous levels of copper were detected in the system.
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