Hurricane Irma: North Brevard customers wait for water

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Cocoa water customers continue to deal with a boil water warning, as the utility company tries to restore water to all 82,000 customers.

The city and the Florida Army National Guard spent the day handing out water in Cocoa, which ran out by the end of the day.

The National Guard also distributed water in other locations in the county, and will continue to do so until supplies run out.

As the water is distributed, Cocoa Utilities is working overtime to restore both water and pressure to all of its customers.

Officials said they are still trying to restore customers living on central Merritt Island and in the South Tropical Trail area.  Pressures are also fluctuating around Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.

Crews took a big step forward Wednesday when they located a pipe blown apart by the storm surge running under the Banana River.

"We kind of started on one side of the system and as we were able to get pressure, we kind of moved to the next zone," Cocoa Utilities Director Jack Walsh said.

Cocoa Utilities said water conservation among restored customers will help them establish better pressure for customers just coming back online.

If the water pressure gets too low, it could hold up the entire process of getting the water back on, Walsh said.

"If the pressures happen to go or dip near the 20 psi limit, it could jeopardize the whole system and we start the whole process over again of testing," he said.

There is no specific timeline for when all customers will have water.

Melbourne residents are being asked to conserve. If they don’t, it may prompt a boil-water advisory.

More: South Brevard water issues

Cox Media Group