Germantown utility customers advised not to drink tap water
According to a statement from the Shelby County Health Department, tap water should not be used for drinking, food preparation, preparing baby formula, brushing teeth, or bathing until the water has been determined safe for drinking. (Tony Gutierrez/AP file)
Germantown water customers have been advised not to consume tap water until further notice.
City of Germantown officials said Thursday evening, July 20:
“Based on the remediation work in progress and pending test results, the order could be lifted as early as Friday. However, the City has established contingency plans to distribute bottled water should the situation extend into the weekend.”
The city initially issued the water warning around 3 p.m. Thursday.
Following reports that the tap water had a strong odor Thursday morning, the city said it was determined at 2:45 p.m. that a generator being used to power the Southern Avenue water treatment facility during the current power outage was leaking diesel fuel into an underground reservoir.
The Germantown Fire Department and other regional emergency management agencies were working to resolve the situation as soon as possible, the city added.
According to a statement from the Shelby County Health Department, the tap water should not be used for drinking, food preparation, preparing baby formula, brushing teeth or bathing until the water has been determined safe for drinking.
In 2021, the City of Germantown reported having 14,000 water customers.
About 140,000 MLGW customers lost power following the storms that struck on Tuesday. By 4 p.m. Thursday, the number of MLGW customers without power was around 18,000.
The majority of remaining outages earlier Thursday were in Germantown, Hickory Hill, East Memphis, Raleigh, Berclair and Frayser.
Kambui Bomani
Kambui Bomani is the general assignment and breaking news reporter for The Daily Memphian. He is a graduate of Jackson State University’s multimedia journalism program and earned a master’s degree in digital journalism from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. His work has been published in Pro Football Focus, The Southside Stand, HBCU Legends, FanSided and Wisconsin Sports Heroics.
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