STARKE, Fla. — The water is back on in the City of Starke, but a boil water advisory is still in effect for more than 5,000 people who live there.
It shut down most Bradford County Schools and closed some local businesses for the day.
City officials issued the notice after a mechanical malfunction at the Southwest Water Treatment Facility caused a loss of water pressure.
Friday is usually the busiest day of the week at Salt and Light Fusion Coffeehouse, but customers had to buy caffeine elsewhere Friday morning.
Michael and Debbie Smith run the coffee shop together. They came in to no water around 7 a.m. Friday morning.
"You don't think about what happens if the water is shut off," Micheal said.
They expect to lose hundreds of dollars in revenue from being closed for just one day.
"It was pretty stressful when we came into no water and not knowing why and then we're like, 'Oh, we can still make this or that iced drink' but even our ice was bad, so being a small business, it's pretty detrimental to us," Debbie said.
Starke City Manager Drew Mullins said it started when the water treatment facility had a mechanical malfunction and shut off, draining the tank.
Crews have fixed the issue at the plant, but the notice is still in effect.
"The water is safe to take a shower in, bathe in,” he said. “If you're going to cook with it or wash dishes or consume it, that's when you actually have to boil it and, of course, it's a one minute rolling boil."
He said the infrastructure is old and needs to be upgraded, which is something city leaders have been working on.
"This is a terrible situation that occurred, but this is one of the many reasons, one of many examples why we need to do this," Mullins said.
Meanwhile, the Smiths hope they can re-open soon and get back to serving coffee.
"We miss our customers," Michael said.
They already had to cancel an event scheduled for this weekend.
"Tomorrow's our first Saturday opening this year because we weren't open Saturdays, so now we have to probably miss our first Saturday being open this year, so that's a bummer," Debbie said.
She said they won’t re-open until the advisory is lifted out of an abundance of caution.
Mullins said the boil water notice will stay in effect until a bacteriological survey shows the water is safe. It could be two days.