Even if frigid temperatures didn’t keep their customers out, restaurants have been ordered by the Shelby County Health Department to suspend service until a boil water advisory—imposed by Memphis Light Gas and Water on Thursday evening—lifts. That is unless they are able to boil or use bottled water for all food and beverage preparation needs. Ice machines connected to tap water cannot be used.
“Because it is difficult to operate a restaurant or food service without running water, it’s necessary for us to actually issue a health directive,” said Dr. Bruce Randolph, Shelby County’s health officer.
Randolph said he recognizes the hardships that restaurants have faced because of COVID-19 shutdowns and that new health guidelines would have allowed for dining rooms to increase their capacity just this weekend.
“But I think this is a measure that we must take to err on the side of safety,” Randolph said.
The order does not affect restaurants that are not a part of the MLGW network.
In an extraordinary measure for the area, the utility has instructed all of its customers to boil their tap water for three minutes before consuming it because of the impact multiple winter storms have had on Memphis. Freezing temperatures haver led to reduced water pressure and water main breaks, creating an opportunity for bacteria to potentially enter the system.
The deputy head of the health department, David Sweat, said so far no bacteria has been detected in drinking water.
“Out of an abundance of caution, because it has dropped to a low water pressure level that’s hard to maintain, just because there’s a lot of water main breaks, the advisory is out to just tell people to take precautions in case there’s some sort of compromise in the water system that nobody has detected yet,” he said.
More guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a boil advisory can be found here.
