Germantown water crisis: One year later, some think twice before they drink

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — It’s been almost one year since the Germantown Water Crisis, when diesel fuel spilled into a local reservoir, leaving the 40,000 people living in the city under an order to avoid using water for everything except flushing toilets.

For about a week, the city shut down its water supply. Germantown leaders said the diesel spill was caused in part by human error of a city employee.

Frustrated residents such Alyse Masserano remember it like it was yesterday.

“I was shocked. I had ingested the water,” Masserano said. “I had used it for cooking and most importantly for my dog and I was very fearful and mistrusting of the explanations.”

Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, says an actual storm before the spill caused a perfect storm of problems.

“It was really hard to determine who was in charge, what was going on and how do you fix it?” she said. “MLGW took a long time to restore power to that water treatment plant. It was another moment that led to the disaster and then overfilling of the diesel tank, the placement of the generator directly above the drinking water reservoir and not catching it before it was distributed to residents.”

A year later, WREG wanted to see what’s been done to keep this from ever happening again and where things stand with a new water tower that was supposed to be part of the solution.

In an email to WREG, the City of Germantown said, “The Forest Hill water tower has received T-DEC approval for use, however, MLGW continues to work on the electricity feed to the site. Public Works Director Bo Mills is confident that it will be operational before the end of summer.”

The City of Germantown also told WREG it was putting together a comprehensive list of things that have been done to ensure the safety of the water supply. They anticipate having information to share by the end of the month.

“So, there’s still access to drinking water in Germantown, but this is something that really needs to be a priority at MLGW, at the state level and with Germantown leadership,” Houston said.

Still, some people aren’t very confident.

“I myself, personally I’m still a bit leery,” Masserano said. “I’m still using a water pitcher that I fill from the tap that’s filtered. I only use that for drinking and that’s all that I give my dogs.”

But some credit any improvements in Germantown to its people for sounding the alarm.

“It was really the alarm bell from community members that brought this to the attention of Germantown,” Houston said.

It’s why Masserano says she’s remained in contact with WREG to help get answers.

“I’m so appreciative of you and Channel Three for going the extra mile and not letting this let our voices be silent. You gave us an opportunity to be heard and I’m very appreciative of that,” she said.

The City of Germantown also announced recently that residents will see a change in their water bills starting this month.

They say the price increase is to address personnel costs, rising maintenance costs,  and continued infrastructure investment and rising sewage treatment expenses.

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