Businesses and residences near Kachemak Way have been piping in dirty water after a private contractor struck a main line Wednesday morning.

The city of Homer Public Works Department was able to stop the leak in about 20 minutes after it was reported at around 9:30 a.m. Even though the main itself has been patched, the process of flushing the water currently in the pipes could take several days.

The break in the water main brought on a sudden rush of water throughout the area system and scoured the inside of the main, turning the water a deep brown.

No foreign matter has entered the system and water is safe, according to a press release from the city of Homer Public Works Department.

Businesses and residents in the area are encouraged to use as little water as possible until the main is flushed out. To flush out service lines, run water for 10 or 15 minutes and water should clear up. If it takes longer than 15 minutes, then the main line has not been fully flushed, according to Public Works.

The break affected water customers on the north side of Pioneer Avenue, up the hill along Kachemak Way and surrounding areas.

At least one business, the Caribou Family Restaurant, temporarily shut its doors. A sign on the restaurant Wednesday said "Closed No Water."

For other businesses, the brown water was merely an inconvenience.

"When we got in yesterday I just noticed that the water in the toilet bowl looked really nasty. I mean, we don't use the tap water that often, but it is a big deal when we're trying to run the steamer. We usually just use tap water, but for now we have to use bottled water whenever we want to use it. They said that we should let the water run for 15 minutes so we tried that, but it's still brown. They said they should have it fixed over the weekend," said Dora Macauly, who works the cash register and sales at Homer's Jeans on Pioneer Avenue.

The brown water was more of a nuisance at home where it affected everything from washing her hands and taking a shower to simply pouring a glass of water, said Macauly

For the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, the rust-colored water has not posed a problem.

"We've got these big Britta water filters, so, really, we've got clean water for drinking or washing our hands or whatever. The water in the toilet is still brown, but for the most part it really hasn't affected us," said Elaine Grabowski, as she fields phone calls at the front desk. "I know it has definitely affected homes where people are used to just getting a glass of water from the tap."