MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dozens of people living around the now-tainted McKellar Lake filed into Bloomfield Baptist Church in South Memphis to speak to city leaders.
Many in the room were upset that the city did not knock on their doors to tell them about a massive sewage leak that spilled tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage into Cypress Creek two weeks ago.
Public Works crews notified people living near the Marina, and Mayor Jim Strickland stood behind how the city got the word out.
“We think the notices to the media, the town hall meetings, and the signs at the location and the personnel at the location saying do not go in the water, do not fish until further notice,” Mayor Strickland told WREG.
Still, people were worried about their health after the spill caused a large fish kill from dangerous levels of E. Coli.
“We need to totally be concerned about not just levels of E. Coli, but what kinds of E. Coli,” Carolyn Bell said.
“How long are we going to be down? They can’t answer that problem,” a local business owner said.
Public Works officials do not know how to go about cleaning up the mess or how long it will take until the water is safe again even though the leak has stopped.
The city promised to go back to the community to update residents and answer any questions people may have.
WREG’s Michael Quander steamed a portion of the meeting live on Facebook: