Officials in Germantown told residents on Thursday that they could start using the tap water again, but around 150 to 300 homes still report lingering odors.

Officials in Germantown told residents on Thursday that they could start using the tap water again, but around 150 to 300 homes still report lingering odors.

  • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
    21·
    1 year ago

    Finally, on Thursday, the city announced that the water was safe to drink again after independent tests showed the reservoir was clear of the diesel fuel, which had spilled from a backup generator used to power a water treatment plant during recent storms.

    • lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee
      112·
      1 year ago

      I wonder if it’s possible the water did still smell because they turned on the tap and had dirty water that was still sitting in the pipes. Not saying the tests were wrong or anyone is lying, maybe both are right and they just need to run the water until I it was clear.

      • Fester@lemm.ee
        8·
        1 year ago

        People also don’t always realize you need to flush your hot water tank after water is contaminated. At regular usage rate, anything could linger in there for days/weeks, even if new water coming in is fresh. If the cold water is clear, then run the hot water till it’s cold and clear, and then some more.

        Although, the town did give instructions for flushing cold and hot water lines, and the residents say they followed them:

        Miller, too, said a gasoline smell lingers in his home even though he followed the directions from the city about how to flush his water line. As instructed, he ran cold water through the faucets, followed by hot, then repeated the process.

        The more likely culprit is further down:

        “These reports are in concentrated areas and the city is currently executing additional main line flushing at these locations, which are predominantly where main lines dead end, such as in coves and courts,” Crockett said.

        Sounds like it’s going to be resolved soon one way or another. Probably not going to be a Flint situation, which is what I first assumed by the headline…

      • flipht@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        Could also be small amounts that are considered safe by the testing. The human nose is actually pretty powerful - we just keep it up in the air so it doesn’t help us as much as a dog’s that is glued to the ground, but when drinking a glass of water you kind of have to stick your nose right in it.

        Residents should try lighting the water. If it catches, it’s definitely not safe.

    • Setnof@feddit.de
      31·
      1 year ago

      They should have used veggie oil instead of diesel for that kind of generators.