By Scott Malone and Ross Kerber
Boston - More than 2 million Boston area residents faced their third day without drinkable tap water on Monday, with many commuters having to start their workweek without their customary cup of coffee or tea.
Authorities said they had repaired a leak in a 10-foot (3 metre) pipe that had triggered the emergency, but told residents and businesses of Boston and most surrounding communities they should continue to boil water before drinking it.
Nonetheless, state and city offices were open, as were schools and major area businesses including mutual-fund giants Fidelity Investments and State Street Corp, leaving area residents to drink bottled beverages and prompting many retailers to stop offering coffee, ice and salads.
"I was just in Starbucks trying to get my normal morning coffee and they said they weren't serving most of their menu," said Gareth Miller, 23, who was visiting Boston from Minneapolis, Minnesota. "It's inconvenient."
Local outlets of Starbucks Corp and Dunkin Donuts were not selling coffee or other non-packaged drinks, and Amtrak also reported that neither coffee nor tea would be available on trains out of Boston.
Other retailers, including several Au Bon Pain cafe outlets, were selling coffee, relying on boiled and bottled water.
The pipe in Weston, Massachusetts, a suburb about 24km west of Boston, burst on Saturday, initially pouring millions of gallons (litres) of potable water into the Charles River. Authorities drew on emergency water supplies, including local ponds, prompting the order to boil water.
Boiling water kills parasites including Giardia, which can cause intestinal illness.
After patching the hole, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority officials began piping heavily chlorinated water through the pipeline with hopes of killing off any parasites that had gotten in. Officials said it could take two days of testing before the city's water was again safe to drink.
- Editing by Eric Beech