Groveland residents can turn on the tap again without boiling every pot on the stove after the city lifted its precautionary boil-water advisory and cleared the northern system following a power outage at the Sunshine Water Treatment Plant. The interruption, triggered by a lightning strike late Monday, left parts of the city with low or no water and sent many people scrambling for bottled supplies. City officials say normal service has now resumed in the affected service area after testing confirmed the water met regulatory standards.
City: Lightning Strike Blamed For Northern Plant Outage
According to the City of Groveland, a lightning strike around 7 p.m. on Monday caused a power surge at the Sunshine Water Treatment Plant (Northern WTP #3), interrupting operations and prompting a precautionary boil-water advisory at 8:30 p.m. The city reported that the advisory for the northern service area was lifted at 12:45 p.m. on July 1 after sampling confirmed the water met safety standards.
Relief And Impact
WFTV reported that roughly 3,000 homes and businesses were affected. Low-lying neighborhoods saw reduced pressure, while higher-elevation areas lost service entirely. To help residents ride out the disruption, the city arranged bottled-water distribution at Cherry Lake Preparatory Academy (119 Wilson Lake Parkway) on June 30 and July 1, and set up a resident information line at 352-306-6495 for updates.
Why Residents Are Worried
For many locals, this latest outage landed on top of other recent frustrations, including reports earlier this month of dark, rust-colored tap water that led to extended flushing at some households, as WKMG/ClickOrlando documented. All of it is playing out while the region remains under a Phase III Extreme Water Shortage order, which tightened irrigation limits in May and adds strain to local systems, according to the St. Johns River Water Management District.
What Residents Should Do Now
Although officials have lifted the advisory, public health guidance still calls for some basic cleanup steps before going back to business as usual at the kitchen sink. Recommended post-advisory measures include running cold-water taps for several minutes, discarding any ice made during the advisory, and replacing or flushing water filters before using tap water for drinking or food preparation, according to the CDC. Residents with questions about testing, billing or refunds were directed to check the city website or call the Resident Information Line for the latest information.
