Residents in the South endure day 4 of water problems as freezing weather bursts pipes
Memphis residents spent their fourth day boiling water for drinking, brushing their teeth and preparing food on Monday as repair crews worked to fix broken pipes in hopes of easing the stress caused by a week of subfreezing temperatures, snow and ice in this southern city.
The city's water company issued a boil water notice on Friday to the more than 600,000 people it serves because low pressure in the system and breaks in water mains could allow harmful bacteria to contaminate the water supply.
“It's frustrating for us homeowners, especially old folks, to have to deal with the snow and the water problem,” said 81-year-old William Wilkerson, who lost all water service between Thursday and Sunday.
Memphis was the largest, but not the only, water system in Tennessee to experience problems from the unusually cold weather that has caused dozens of deaths around the U.S. this month, many involving hypothermia or road accidents. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said on Sunday night that 28 other
water systems were under boil water notices and 19 counties were reporting operational issues with their water utilities.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Department of Health reported 34 weather-related fatalities across the state as of Monday.
Several days of belowfreezing temperatures have also caused water problems for multiple cities around Arkansas, where freezing rain on Monday led to warnings of possible power outages as well.
In Tennessee, the several inches of snow and unusually low temperatures led the Tennessee Valley Authority to ask the 10 million people in its service
area to conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts. The utility saw its highest demand for electricity ever last week but the system remained stable.
Memphis, Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen told reporters Sunday that crews are making progress with repairs, and he expects most customers to have water service restored on Monday and Tuesday. They will still have to boil water, likely through Thursday, though.
Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, in Memphis, said she lost water service on Sunday night and still had no running water on Monday morning.
“I had filled up pitchers and water bottles and have some backup supply just for drinking,” she said. “Everybody's going through it. It's just unfortunate.”
While the majority-Black city is known more for its warm climate than freezing, icy weather, it has experienced winter storms in the past. But the storm last week was the fourth in past three years, showing that the city, like so many others, is feeling direct effects of climate change, Houston said.
“The first thing to recognize is that, having snow and multi-day deep freezes every year, is not normal,” she said.
Earlier this year, the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University released the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index. It found that Shelby County, which includes Memphis, is among the most vulnerable in the U.S. The measurements included food, water and waste management.
The recent winter storm was the fourth since 2021 to hit Memphis. Storms in February 2021 led to a weeklong boil water advisory after water mains broke, wells failed, reservoirs froze, and motors at pumping stations overheated in a system with some parts dating to the 1930s.