MEMPHIS, Tenn — As several Memphians report spending days searching stores for water, Shelby County got a late Christmas present from Kroger on Wednesday.
More than 38,000 bottles of water.
The surprise truckload sent waves of relief washing across the 901.
“I (finally) have the resources to give to the citizens what they need,” said Shelby County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Brenda Jones. “Can you imagine getting call after call from citizens requesting bottled water and I don't have a bottle of water to give them?”
Kroger Delta Division made the announcement Wednesday, partnering with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Shelby County Government to ship pallets of water to the area.
Kroger Corporate Affairs Manager Sheleah Harris, who grew up in Cordova, helped lead the charge to come to Shelby County’s aid after seeing the dire need facing the region.
“(We put together the relief effort) over the past 48 hours, once we found out that the need was large in our community,” Harris said. “This is just one way that we wanted to show up.”
As the water crisis continues, the more desperate the situation facing Memphians and their neighbors becomes.
“We went to like four different Krogers, no water. We went to Sams Club, no water,” said Melba Thomas. “It was ridiculous.”
After losing service for a day, Thomas says she was about to look for water for her three children in Mississippi and Arkansas before she heard about the thousands of water bottles Kroger sent to the Shelby County EMA and Homeland Security Warehouse.
“From boiling the water, to taking a bath, using it to cook, to drink. It’s a big help,” Thomas said after pickling up her water Wednesday afternoon. “A huge help.”
Starting at 2 p.m., Shelby County EMA staff handed out cases of water, with a limit of two 24-bottle cases per car, adding up to 48 bottles per family. But depending on the size of the household, Jones says that’s only enough water to last about 2 to 4 days.
“A household of four, we're hoping they'll last anywhere from two to three days,” she said. “And then we'll have to revisit whether we still have a boil water alert (in place).”
However, Jones says having clean water for just the next few days can have a tremendous impact county-wide.
73-year-old Darryl Levitch says that the sheer effort of having to constantly boil water is taking a tole on his wife.
“My wife has polio and cancer,” he said. “And since this water boiling deal has erupted, it’s hurting her because she’s limited to how much she can walk.”
Harris says she knows the hardships facing the Memphis area, because she has lived them.
“There was a time when I did not have running water. There was a time where my electricity was going on and off,” she said. “The same thing with my family and friends. So I’m just looking forward to having a solution very soon.”
If not, Harris says she’d absolutely consider sending another truckload of water.
Additionally, Harris says Kroger had 50 extra truckloads of water delivered to stores all over Western Tennessee Tuesday night to make sure that their shelves are fully stocked with water.
Shelby County EMA staff were scheduled to hand out water from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. but Jones said that, as long as people continued to show up, she and her team would keep handing out water.
Jones said any water bottles they have left over will be available for pickup at a later date.