Residents of Tampa Bay, Fla., have been asked to cut back on their water usage to help conserve liquid oxygen supply needed for COVID-19 patients, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
In a statement on Wednesday, regional wholesaler Tampa Bay Water shared that it would temporarily replace its liquid oxygen usage with a bleach solution at its Lithia facility, citing the low supplies of liquid oxygen in hospitals.
Tampa Bay Water services more than 2.5 million people across three counties in the Tampa Bay area, according to the Times.
Hillsborough County Public Utilities customers are now being asked to preserve their drinking water usage by cutting back on nonessential use, the Times reported.
“Consumers who are sensitive to taste and odor changes in drinking water might notice a slight change during this period,” Tampa Bay Water said.
Tampa Bay Water Department Director Chuck Weber told the Times that even with the new switch, the area will struggle to share any usage of clean water.
“Our hospitals need liquid oxygen, but our entire region needs clean water too,” Weber said. “Taking liquid oxygen away from our water supply right now would be putting the health of hundreds of thousands of people on the line and that’s not something we need to do.”
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Tampa Bay residents asked to conserve water to conserve COVID-19 oxygen supply https://t.co/ZJjxQmeGKJ pic.twitter.com/Q3pFQuvoya
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