Germantown officials provide community with drinking water, mayor asks for patience during crisis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Hundreds of Germantown residents spent their Saturday morning grabbing cases of water.

The city’s been without safe drinking water since Thursday night. City officials have been providing bottled water in the midst of a crisis.

“I don’t’ like it but it happened and at least the city is doing something for us,” said Robbie Inman, a Germantown resident.

City officials say results for the first round of water sample testing were delayed because of overnight power outages at the MLGW testing lab.

“We’ve also done some independent testing as well and the independent testing we’ve taken 15 samples from a radius around the water treatment facility and so we hope to get those back soon as well, " said Germantown Mayor, Mike Palazzolo.

Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo says they’ve been working around the clock to fix the issue.

“We have been through so much as a region over the last month whether it be thunderstorms, pop up flash flooding, power outages, and now a spillage at our water plant it seems like it’s unending at times but we’re gonna get this fixed and operable and safe,” said Palazzolo.

For three hours cars lined up to get their case to take home to their families.

Longtime Germantown resident Robbie Inman came to pick up water for his neighbor.

“My neighbor across the street isn’t able to get out so I’m gonna give her half of mine, if we gotta get some more then we’ll go buy it, I’m sure some place in Shelby County has bottled water,” said Inman.

Mayor Palazzolo says they’re in a state of emergency, but he’s thankful for the truckload of water they were able to provide.

He’s now asking for patience.

“We take water for granted and we need it and when you don’t have it ... obviously that’s something that tries peoples patience and they’re frustrated and I would just encourage the people of Germantown we’re working hard on it,” said Palazzolo.

“If you’re not patient then we don’t love each other,” said Inman.

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