Germantown to provide water bottles amid water alert - Commercial Appeal

Germantown to provide water bottles amid water alert

Germantown provides updates on water bottles, contaminated reservoir
John Klyce

With Germantown residents still being told not to consume their tap water, the Tennessee city said Friday morning it was working with suppliers to provide bottled water to people who can’t access it on their own or are in critical need of it.

According to an update from the city released Friday morning, information about a distribution location is slated to be provided as soon as one is confirmed.

Thursday morning, there were a few reports of residents’ tap water having a strong odor, so Germantown’s water department staffers worked to identify the cause. At 2:45 p.m. Thursday, they determined that a generator — which was powering the Southern Avenue water treatment facility during the current power outage — had been leaking diesel fuel into an underground reservoir.

Since then, the city has told Germantown water customers that their tap water should only be used to flush toilets, out of an abundance of caution. During a news briefing Thursday evening, officials said that, at worst, 100 gallons of diesel fuel had leaked into the underground reservoir, which contains about 4.2 million gallons of water.

The fuel is floating on the water, they explained, and city workers are in the process of pumping it out. After this, the water will be thoroughly tested, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation must provide clearance before the restriction on water usage is lifted.

In an update Thursday night, the city said the order “could be lifted as early as Friday.” The city's latest update said that Germantown’s Public Works department is in the process of “flushing and neutralizing the system,” and that testing is “expected by late afternoon.”