LAKEMORE, Ohio -- Gail Palmer woke up Thanksgiving morning to find the water coming from her kitchen tap as brown as her cabinets.

It was not what she needed to see with company on the way and a holiday feast to prepare.

"My sister called and told me don't drink the water," Palmer told Fox 8 News, "I says I'm boiling it for tea, you know, but she says don't drink it."

The problem is the result of an accident on Brittany Road Wednesday, in which a 16-year-old driver hit a fire hydrant.

The hydrant did not break away as it should have, shutting off the water flow.

Instead, the impact shifted the main water line five feet underground, which ruptured draining the town's water tank.

By Thanksgiving morning, the damage had been repaired. But the water supply to hundreds of homes and businesses was left contaminated with sediment, and a boil alert was issued to residents of Lakemore.

Local grocery stores immediately stocked shelves with gallons of bottled water which were gobbled up by residents who quickly realized how much they needed it for the holiday.

"I'm trying to cook my stuffing, my potatoes, any kind of casserole," said Christine Wilmoth, who checked out with a grocery cart filled with nothing but bottled water.

"Anything right now goes with water," she added.

Most restaurants in the community were closed Thanksgiving day. But the Meal Ticket restaurant had already planned to be open between 11a.m. and 2:00 pm to serve customers that might not otherwise have a traditional holiday meal.

Owner Bruce Bailey says they were still able to operate because they were on well water, and had no idea Thanksgiving morning how the water contamination might impact their business.

"We cooked 10 turkeys... peeled buckets and buckets of mashed potatoes over the last couple of days," Bailey's wife Kathy told Fox 8 as she was carving turkey in the restaurant's kitchen.

"I just hope everybody has a meal," she added. "Because everybody should eat their turkey on Thanksgiving if that's what they want."

"Its different," Palmer said. "I mean, I've never had to do it before. You have to boil your water and stuff and you probably have to get bottled water."

Lakemore Mayor, Mike Kolomichuk, says it might be as long as a week before the boil alert is lifted and water pressure is restored to normal.

If you have further questions, please contact the Village of Lakemore at (330)733-6125.