GERMANTOWN — As the water crisis continues in Germantown and the surrounding areas, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief has jumped into action, shipping nearly 1,200 cases of bottled water to residents.
“As a result of the support we receive from TBC churches and individuals, we were able to assist the people of Germantown while they are in this crisis situation,” said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. “We are grateful for that support, which allows us to respond.”
According to reports from The Commercial Appeal and USA Today, Germantown residents remain without safe tap water as they wait for officials to test more samples. Last week, officials announced the city’s water supply was contaminated with diesel fuel.
Jones
On Wednesday, Tennessee Baptist DR supplied 14 pallets — with 84 cases on each pallet — of NAPA water to the Germantown area. The water was delivered by JD Cantrell Trucking company.
Residents of the Memphis suburb were first told about the diesel leak and water contamination on July 20 and advised not to consume the city’s tap water, or use it for bathing or washing, according to the USA Today story.
Since then, residents have descended on water bottle distribution sites and some restaurants have dramatically reduced their menus to only include items that can be prepared without tap water, the story said.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Baptists DR teams are also responding to other crisis situations in Shelby County and Washington County after severe storms caused destruction in those areas.
Jones noted that the Shelby County area has been hit with three different storms over the last five weeks, resulting in over 500 requests for assistance with tree damage and other needs.
“I am so thankful for all our volunteers who have served over the last five weeks,” said Jones, “and I am grateful to Bellevue Baptist Church for hosting them as they served.”
Jones added that, in the midst of serving these areas, Tennessee Baptist DR “have other volunteers working in the Washington County area to help people recover from flooding.”
Those interested in volunteering can contact Jones at wjones@tnbaptist.org or Elizabeth Holmes at eholmes@TNBaptist.org. Contributions to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief can be made at tndisasterrelief.org by clicking on “contributions.”
