Panic and confusion fuel a run on bottled water in Philadelphia, even in areas unaffected by the chemical spill

When Philadelphia officials texted city residents on Sunday about the status of their tap water after a chemical spill near the Delaware River, grocery stores around the region were inundated with customers seeking bottled water.

Large chains including Acme, Wawa, Giant, ShopRite, Fresh Grocer, and Rite Aid have been scrambling to keep their Philadelphia stores stocked, while smaller businesses have also been competing to get extra supply in the near term and secure adequate shipments for later in the week.

Food bank Philabundance is getting water from its suppliers and Feeding America food bank partners to distribute to food pantries in impacted areas.

Philadelphia officials have said tap water is safe to drink through at least 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and will continue to provide updates. But as residents continued to stock up on Monday, many stores posted the status of their bottled water supply on signs in their windows or on social media.

When Klein’s Supermarket opened at 8 a.m. Monday, people were waiting at the door.

”A rush of people went straight to the water,” said manager Andrew Klein. By 9 a.m., he said, the Fairmount market was sold out.

By midday Monday, people were still calling “every minute,” he said, asking if Klein’s had water.

The longtime family-owned grocer gets its water shipments on Wednesdays. This week, Klein said, he put in an order for four times as much as he usually gets. Until that shipment arrives Wednesday, he said, there isn’t much he can do but wait with the rest of the city for updates.

The South Philly Food Co-op sold out of bottled water a couple of hours after the city alerted residents to the water issues on Sunday. ”If I had known I would have stocked up, but I had no way of knowing,” said co-op grocery and wellness manager Christo Johnson.

Johnson drove to a restaurant supply store in Pennsauken before it opened Monday to secure more bottles. They got 13 cases of water, which was mostly sold out by 1 p.m. Monday.

Johnson said they may go back on Tuesday for additional bottles, and they just ordered a full pallet of water that should come early next week. The price on that pallet was normal on Monday, Johnson said, but “I know it’s going to go up.”

Kensington Community Food Co-op posted on Facebook Monday morning that it had just received a shipment of water, and would limit purchase to two gallons per customer.

Even in parts of the city that do not source their water from the Delaware River, and therefore were not affected by the chemical spill, grocers have seen intense demand for bottled water.

Stephanie Wein, clean water advocate for PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental advocacy organization, said the initial alerts from the city, which advised people to prepare to stop using water citywide, may have made some people think they were affected when they were not.

“Expensive bottles of water, if you can even find any, is not a great solution for a lot of Philadelphians,” Wein said.

Sayed Ahmad, whose family owns Cousin’s Fresh Market, spent Monday morning on the phone with several water bottle suppliers, trying to figure out who could get him the most water in the least amount of time.

One supplier said he could get him trucks of water Thursday. ”I said, ‘I cant wait ‘til Thursday,’” Ahmad said.

Water bottles at all four of his family’s markets sold out within two hours of the city’s alert Sunday afternoon, though the stores are located in West and Southwest Philadelphia, and Chester, Delaware County, none of which are affected.

Even after the city sent another alert later Sunday advising residents that the water was still safe, sales continued.

”They were not buying ‘It is safe right now,’” Ahmad said. “They were panicking. They were confused.”

Just from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday, he got “probably 200 calls, [asking] ‘Do you have water? Do you have water?’”

”The phone has not stopped ringing from the morning until now,” Ahmad said about noon Monday.

He anticipates getting some water in Tuesday, and even more Wednesday and Thursday. Though the city says it expects water should be safe by Thursday, Ahmad said he doesn’t see the issue evaporating anytime soon. ”I think people will still look for water,” he said.

Weaver’s Way Co-op sold out of bottled water and canned seltzer Sunday afternoon, general manager Jon Roesser said, even though its Philadelphia stores, in Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill, are in areas that the city said would not be affected by the spill.

Roesser secured two pallets of gallons of water to be delivered Tuesday, and each customer will be limited to one gallon. “Until we get more info from the city on the duration of this thing, we’re going to be scrambling like this for a bit,” Roesser said.

All Philadelphia Acme stores were stocked with water bottles as of Monday morning. After Sunday’s run on water, the Malvern-based grocer sent emergency shipments from its Lancaster warehouse to local stores Sunday night and Monday morning, said spokesperson Dana Ward.

”We’re continuing to monitor,” Ward said, “and will continue to send water as needed.”

Wawa stores have implemented a maximum quantity of gallons and cases per customer, spokesperson Lori Bruce said.

”We expect additional supply to all Philly stores today or tomorrow, and will continue to monitor the situation and make additional adjustments as needed,” Bruce said.

Rite Aid is limiting water purchases to two cases per transaction, spokesperson Alicja Wojczyk said. “We are working closely with suppliers to meet the demands of our customers and communities,” she added.

Giant Food Stores have also seen increased demand, spokesperson Ashley Flower said.

The stores have not put any quantity limits in place, but are “encouraging customers to purchase only what they need,” she said.