The City of Groveland reported the break at approximately 9:15 a.m. and said the northern service area would experience lower-than-normal water pressure while crews isolated and repaired the damaged main. A precautionary boil-water advisory was issued for the affected area.

The Sunshine Water Plant was temporarily shut down while crews worked on the repair. According to local reports, approximately 3,500 homes experienced low water pressure during the incident.

By 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, the city announced that the water main had been repaired and the Sunshine plant was operating again. However, the precautionary boil-water advisory remained in effect while water samples were collected and tested. The city said results were expected Thursday, at which point the advisory could potentially be lifted if the samples were clear.

Third Water Disruption This Month

Tuesday's break was the third significant water-system disruption reported in Groveland during September.

On September 16, a malfunction at the Sunshine Water Plant caused the plant's pumps to go offline, temporarily affecting water service for approximately 5,000 residents. The city initially said a power surge was suspected, while a later city release described the incident as a technological error. A precautionary boil-water advisory was issued for affected areas.

Just nine days later, on September 25, the Sunshine plant experienced another outage lasting approximately 30 minutes. The city said software used to automatically operate the plant's pumps shut them down. Crews manually restarted the pumps, and the city issued another precautionary boil-water advisory while water samples were collected.

Following that incident, Mayor Wilson Keogh publicly expressed frustration with the repeated problems and said City Manager Tim Maslow had directed the plant's operator, Woodard & Curran, to discontinue use of the problematic Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The plant was to be operated manually while a permanent replacement was pursued.

A Growing Infrastructure Conversation

While the three September incidents involved different immediate causes—including pump and control-system problems and Tuesday's physical water-main break—the frequency of the disruptions has raised questions about the reliability and condition of Groveland's water infrastructure.

For residents, the repeated loss of pressure and precautionary boil-water advisories have created disruptions across portions of the city's northern service area.

The City of Groveland has said it is continuing to address both the immediate problems and longer-term infrastructure needs. Tuesday's main break was repaired the same day, but the city remained under a precautionary advisory pending water-quality testing.

The Clermont Current will continue to follow developments surrounding Groveland's water system and any additional information released by city officials regarding the cause of the main break and planned infrastructure improvements.