Assurances on Water Met With Skepticism : Ventura: Some residents are relieved as city backtracks. Others don’t buy the claim or resent the mixed messages.

Robert Jordan smiled skeptically, slowly shook his head and said there was no way he would drink, shower or in any way use Ventura tap water, regardless of city officials’ assurances that it was not contaminated after all.

“I don’t believe that,” Jordan said. “Why doesn’t the mayor come out here and drink some water then?”

The sudden announcement Friday that Ventura residents could again trust the water--less than a day after officials said that making it safe would take at least 48 hours--was met with confusion, relief, anger and mistrust of government throughout the city.

Many merchants and residents welcomed the news, saying Thursday’s declaration that more than half the city’s tap water was tainted had been an insufferable inconvenience, and they were glad it was over.

“What the heck, they’re saying it’s OK now,” said 19-year-old Lupe Morales, who planned to use the water to wash dishes and shower only.

Others dismissed the hassle, saying city officials acted with public safety in mind--even if they were a bit overzealous.

“They may have overreacted,” said Ed Warren, owner of the Busy Bee Cafe in downtown Ventura, “but bureaucracies always overreact.”

Yet some were upset with the city for creating hysteria and causing unnecessary problems for its citizens.

“When it comes to my kids and nobody knows what’s going on--it kind of makes me angry,” said Gina Young, 24, who said she and her two toddlers had not bathed Friday. She hadn’t yet decided whether to use tap water over the weekend.

James Mensendiek said the conflicting information the city passed on to the public Thursday and Friday left him befuddled and leery.

“I’m not going to believe them for a while,” said Mensendiek, 35, a county firefighter. “I’m getting a lot of mixed signals.”

He said he and his wife plan to dine out of town in Oxnard, and even their two cats are going to be drinking bottled water for the next few days.

Some restaurant owners said they will continue to operate in a crisis mode, saying the health of their patrons may still be at risk despite the latest declaration from Ventura officials.

“We’re not taking any chances,” said Stu Kraft, manager of Johnny’s Mexican restaurant on Ventura Avenue. “I want to play it safe. We have to take care of our customers.”

Kraft said he planned to continue serving bottled water and canned soft drinks to customers and boiling tap water to clean dishes.

Drinking coffee at the Ash Street Coffeehouse on Friday morning, Rob Robinson said he was skeptical of Ventura officials. To him, drinking tap water amounted to taking a chance regardless of the city’s claims that it was perfectly safe.

“I’m not taking the city at their word,” said Robinson, who planned to leave town for the weekend. “They are just changing their mind too quick.”

For residents and proprietors of restaurants and coffeehouses, the water crisis was brief but troublesome--and sometimes costly.

The Ash Street, for instance, could not use its gourmet and espresso coffee machines because they were linked to the water pipes, said co-owner Maggie Linnemeyer. She made coffee Friday morning by boiling water and pouring it into two 40-cup portable coffee makers.

“Our coffee wasn’t up to its usual standards,” she said. “But for people who needed caffeine, it worked.”

The coffeehouse was back to normal Friday afternoon, according to workers.

At the Holiday Inn on Friday morning, 400 guests were offered five-gallon bottles of water and sponges for bathing and smaller bottles for drinking, said General Manager Robert Swain. Guests who complained of the inconvenience were given a 50% discount, he said.

For some businesses, the obstacles created by doing without tap water were impossible to overcome. Fresh Choice, a soup-and-salad restaurant near the Buenaventura Mall, had to shut down in the middle of lunch hour, said Manager Phil Swain. Almost all of the 80 items offered at the popular eatery need to be rinsed before serving, he said.

When he heard the announcement Thursday that the tap water was contaminated, he personally cleared glasses of water from customers while they were still eating.

“They looked at me like I was crazy,” he said. “But I took this very seriously.”

Correspondents Catherine Saillant and Paul Elias contributed to this story.