Massachusetts town races to secure clean water after E. coli detected: ‘Coffee pickle’

Residents and business owners in a South Shore community are racing to secure bottled water and boiling their taps after routine testing detected dangerous E. coli bacteria in the town’s water supply.

Norwell is under an immediate, mandatory boil-water order after state and local officials confirmed Wednesday that a routine sample collected a day earlier tested positive for contamination. The bacteria can cause severe gastrointestinal illness, posing a particular risk to children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.

The emergency comes at the worst possible time for residents. As temperatures soared toward 90 degrees Thursday afternoon, town workers set up an emergency distribution site at Norwell High School, rationing bottled water to a maximum of two cases per household.

“Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source, for example, following heavy rains,” town officials warned in a public notice, adding that a water main break or treatment failure could also be to blame. “Residents are instructed to boil all water used for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, food preparation, and washing dishes until further notice. Boiled water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute.”

Town Administrator Chad Lovett described the boil water order as a “precautionary but urgent measure … to protect the health and safety of our residents.”

“We are working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to identify the source of the contamination and to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Lovett said in a statement on Wednesday.

The water crisis forced immediate disruptions to summer routines. The town’s Recreation Department scrambled to modify its programs Thursday, banning tap-water use in public restrooms and forcing the postponement of a popular water-slide event with the Norwell Fire Department.

Local eateries were also forced to pivot or shut down entirely.

Little Carmen’s eatery told customers on Facebook that the sudden order put them in a “Coffee Pickle,” forcing the restaurant to close its doors on Thursday to figure out safe preparation alternatives.

Nearby, DKD Market and Bakery stayed open but put out a blunt notice to patrons: “Sorry, no tap water for drinking. We have plenty of bottled water. Rest assured our ice is safe… We purchase our ice. It is not made in house.”