What to do if you still smell diesel in the Germantown water - Commercial Appeal

What to do if you still smell diesel in the Germantown water

Germantown residents: Still smelling diesel in your water? Here's what to do
Brooke Muckerman

Germantown has said that some customers should return to only using water for flushing toilets as of Friday afternoon. The announcement marked day seven of restricted water usage for some residents.

The city said in an email that if residents still detect diesel odor from their water, even after repeated flushing, they should return to the earlier flushing-only protocol.

"As of noon today, approximately 1 to 2% of the community’s 15,000 homes are reporting continued residual odors in their service lines since the order was lifted beginning in phases at 9 a.m. yesterday," the city said in an email.

The areas currently experiencing the odor are undergoing additional main line flushing, the city said.

"These reports are in concentrated areas and the city is currently executing additional main line flushing to target these areas, which are predominantly at the crests of hills and where main lines dead end, such as in coves," the email said.

The city added it will be sampling the water in the main lines at targeted locations, and per the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, flushing will continue until the tests are clear.

The city urges those who smell diesel after five rounds of flushing to contact the customer service line by calling (901) 757-7200 or emailing CustomerService@Germantown-TN.gov.

Water crisis details: Diesel-contaminated water dumped into Wolf River after Germantown water crisis

Thursday afternoon, the city of Germantown released the water testing results that led TDEC to lift the restricted water usage guidelines. The results released were from July 24, 25 and 26.

The release came after residents took to social media to demand that the water results be made public.

On Thursday, the city began systematically releasing areas of the city to begin flushing water mains and return to normal use. Those who live and work east of Forest Hill Irene Road were cleared to use their water on July 23, while all other residents waited until July 27.