Orlando residents asked to limit water usage with liquid oxygen in short supply
A Florida utility company asked Orlando residents to limit their water usage as liquid oxygen, which is used to treat COVID patients as well as help purify and clean water, is in short supply amid record COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Orlando Utilities Commission asked residents to limit watering their lawns "immediately" in a statement posted to Twitter Friday afternoon.
"A regional shortage of liquid oxygen linked to the surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations is impacting OUC's ability to treat drinking water," the company said.
The company said it needs to conserve up to half the water used daily until supplies return to normal while asking people to limit their non-critical water usage for at least two weeks.
"If OUC's liquid oxygen supplies continue to be depleted and water usage isn't reduced, water quality may be impacted," the company said in an update on its website.
OUC provides water service to about 140,000 customers, according to Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.
The Florida Hospital Association reported a record 16,973 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Thursday. More than half of adults in intensive care units have COVID-19, it said.