OUC: Two weeks’ supply of liquid oxygen remaining for water treatment

ORANGE COUNTY — The clock is ticking.

The Orange Utilities Commission (OUC) and Winter Park Utilities are still running short of the liquid oxygen they need to treat their water supply to homes and businesses. They told WFTV-9 they still have about a two-week supply of the product. But without it, residents could be forced to boil their water because the utilities can not guarantee the water would be safe.

The liquid oxygen is being used to help treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in local hospitals, so suppliers are diverting their deliveries.

Both utilities starting sending a new round of robocalls to customers on Wednesday after not experiencing significant water use drops since Friday when they first issued the call for customers to conserve non-essential water use.

Late Wednesday, Tampa Bay Water told its customers that, effective Thursday, it will shift the water treatment process at its Lithia Hydrogen Sulfide Removal Facility due to a lack of liquid oxygen deliveries. Customers will start to experience water that has an odd taste or odor because it will be cleaned with more bleach.