There were no diners chowing on chicken marsala or slurping down corn chowder at the Food for Thought Cafe in Belmont yesterday. With a boil order in effect to treat E. coli found in the village's water system, the restaurant's operators said they weren't willing to chance it.

That meant canceling 40 lunchtime reservations, said Bill Walsh, assistant professor at Lakes Region Community College, which operates the student-run gourmet eatery out of a historic mill downtown.

"A couple of people were a little irritated," Walsh said. "It's a high-risk situation, and if it's us that gets them sick, we're responsible. We won't open again until we get a clear order."

The cafe wasn't alone in taking precautionary measures yesterday: The state Department of Environmental Services issued the boil order to about 600 residences, schools and businesses Sunday, when water samples tested positive for the bacteria, said Jim Fortin, the town's water department manager. The order affects about 1,300 people.

The village area, which spans about a 2-mile radius, stretches from the intersections of routes 106 and 140. The order only applies to customers on the town's village water system and doesn't affect customers along the Daniel Webster Highway or people with private wells, according to the town's website.

No illnesses have been reported, but the town is keeping a watchful eye on the situation and working with DES to identify and neutralize the source, Fortin said. The order won't be lifted until at least two water samples come back E. coli-free, he said.

E. coli is a type of bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans. It affects the gastrointestinal tract, and symptoms can include diarrhea, cramps, nausea and jaundice that appear between a few hours and several days after infection. Infants, the elderly and sick people are in a high-risk category, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Boiling water is the surest way to eliminate the bacteria, said David Gordon, a health risk assessor with the DES environmental health program. Using household water filters will not eliminate E.coli, and to be safe, bathing in untreated water should be avoided, "especially for people with immune system issues or if you have open wounds," he said.

If showering is a must, "make sure you don't open your mouth, and keep your eyes closed," Gordon said.

Officials have not pinpointed the site of contamination in Belmont but believe it may have come from a construction project on Perkins Road, said Rick Skarinka, an engineer with DES's Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau. The area is undergoing renovations for a new water and drainage system, and E. coli was detected in two water samples taken from houses there, he said.

"Right now we suspect it may be coming from there," Skarinka said, although he stressed the results weren't conclusive. "A pipe had been recently laid and handled there, so something may have not been properly disinfected."

Sonia Huckins lives in one of the houses that was tested last week, she said outside of her home yesterday. The boil order was just another "minor inconvenience" in the string of problems she's seen since construction began, she said.

Residents in the area have lobbied for a new water and drainage system since 2004, she said, because of persistent flooding. When construction began this summer, the houses were hooked up to a temporary water system that wasn't always reliable, she said.

"The water was finally switched back on and came to random houses Friday. On Saturday, they told us we couldn't use it," Huckins said. "At this point, we're just taking it day by day."

Three schools in the Shaker Regional School District are hooked up to the village system, and all have taken precautions, said Superintendent Michael Cozort. Parents have been notified, water fountains have been turned off, and kitchen staff is boiling water accordingly, he said. Students have also been instructed to use hand sanitizer after washing their hands in the bathrooms.

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