Shelves of bottled water emptied out Monday night at a local Acme, as concerns lingered about the safety of Philly’s tap water

On Sunday afternoon, the city sent an alert advising residents they could drink tap water after a chemical spill into a Delaware River tributary. But one of the first things Craig Neveu did when he arrived Monday at the Acme on Roosevelt Boulevard to start his security guard shift was to purchase 10 cases of water.

He said he had to protect his family, which includes a medically vulnerable son with cystic fibrosis.

“It’s a fatal illness, so I had no choice,” Neveu said. “He hasn’t been out the house in three years [because of COVID] and now this.”

There has been a run on water at supermarkets since the city announced chemicals had been spilled Friday night. The city rescinded its earlier recommendation that residents use bottled drinking water after testing proved the water safe to drink until at least 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. However, that has not stopped a run on bottled water as city residents err on the side of caution.

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

According to Neveu, Acme had been busy throughout Monday, but by 7 p.m., the crowds had thinned and the water shelves were wiped out.

Mustafa Kirby exited the Acme with the store’s last packs of water Monday night.

“Am I worried? Of course,” said Kirby, who questioned whether in addition to not drinking the water, people should stop cooking and bathing with it, too.

This was moments after Monday evening’s alert from the Philadelphia Water Department that the city’s tap water from the Baxter plant would be safe to drink and use at least through 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The message did little to decrease Kirby’s concerns.

“If the [water] is not safe, you’re not going to be safe,” Kirby insisted.

His haul of four six-packs of water was nowhere near the three days of water that Mike Carroll, the deputy managing director of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation Infrastructure and Sustainability, has been recommending people maintain.

“Am I worried? Of course.”

Kirby said his plan was to scout more water Tuesday, even if it required a journey into South Jersey.

“I may have to cross the bridge,” he said.

Julie Slavet, executive director of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership Inc., said that Philadelphia actually has high water quality, but the mistrust of government was making people doubt official announcements and panic-shop.

However, she questioned the environmental wisdom of replacing tap water with water in plastic bottles, which is regulated less stringently and could be no purer than municipal water.

» READ MORE: How to find out if you live in a potentially impacted neighborhood by water contamination

Shortly after Kirby left, Norman Brown came into the grocery on Roosevelt Boulevard and stared at the empty shelves.

“I got the alert a minute ago,” he said.

But he wasn’t quite ready to plunge back into tap water. His temporary solution would be to boil his water, though boiling water will not destroy or inactivate chemicals present in water, experts have said. “I’ll survive,” the Vietnam War veteran said.

Neveu, a former drug user, pointed to the Kensington tattoo around his neck. He was concerned about other drug users from his former neighborhood.

“What are they going to do?” he said. “They are going to McDonald’s, use the tap water with their stuff, and shoot it into their systems. No one knows the long-term effects [of this spill].

“The rich have water stocked up in their garages, and the conspiracists have water stocked up in their bunkers. But what about the security guard at Acme or the retail clerk that rings up your clothes?” Neveu said.

“What are we going to do?”