Many of the 40,000 people in the suburb of Germantown under order to avoid using water for everything except flushing toilets

A diesel fuel spill that contaminated the water supply system of Germantown, Tennessee, has left residents unable to drink their tap water as the city’s public works crew rush to flush out the contaminated water.

The city first told residents on 20 July that a spill at a treatment plant tainted the water supply system. The order came after residents reported a fuel smell in their water. Officials said that a generator at the plant spilled diesel fuel into a reservoir after the facility lost power during recent storms.