don't drink the water (lyn)

I’m helping my mom order a cordless curling iron from Amazon and it’s becoming complicated.  What should take about five minutes is stretching into thirty.  I’m becoming impatient.  And then the phone rings.  I want my mom to ignore it, but fortunately she doesn’t.  It turns out that it’s the first of many calls she will receive over the next hour (my mother has tons and tons of friends).  All call with the same, very important news.  A boil water order has been issued for Falmouth. 

More specifically,

The boil order was put into effect today by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and will remain until further notice.

The problem stems from a high bacterial count, including E. coli, found in tests at Long Pond. The town alerted the state to the counts and the DEP issued the alert this afternoon.

Any ice or drinks made with Falmouth water should be discarded.

There must be at least two straight days of clean tests before the order is lifted.

Great.  Let’s see.  Today we washed lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers in water before eating it.  I showered twice and we all brushed our teeth.  The dishes we ate from came directly from the dishwasher.   And my parent’s new cat, Ellie, dined on cat food and faucet water.

So tonight we’ll all brush our teeth and wash our faces with boiled water,  and Ellie will get to try Poland Springs.