Major water main breaks in Fort Myers come as city looks at expanding water capacity

Bill Smith, Fort Myers News-Press
·4 min read

Residents of some Fort Myers neighborhoods who have had to withstand low water pressure in recent years are again making trips to the store to buy clean water until the city's latest water crisis has abated.

The city suffered the second water main break of the week on Friday, leading to the expansion of its previous Boil Water Notice for thousands of residents and businesses in the Treeline Avenue area.

Friday's break was on Colonial Boulevard between Colonial Country Club Boulevard and Treeline Avenue.

The city said its Boil Water Notice now covers Olympia Pointe subdivision, Sherwood subdivision, the Publix shopping center on Lee Boulevard and the Lee County recycling center.

Earlier in the week, a water main break was discovered Wednesday in the biggest underground pipeline in the city which led to the initial boil water alert in effect for areas impacted by the break. The alert will continue until the system produces two days of water without problems.

Fort Myers struggles with water issues

The water main breaks, and resulting inconvenience, have happened as growth has challenged the city's ability to provide potable water. For several months two years ago, the city bought water from Lee County to make sure an adequate supply was on hand.

For now, residents are taking their own steps to deal with the water emergency. Advice from the city of Fort Myers calls for boiling water before using it for drinking, cooking, ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes. Bringing the water to a steady boil for a minute is adequate. Bottled water is an alternative.

An estimated 22,000 people and many businesses were impacted by the broken water supply pipes. The water main breaks, and resulting expenses, come in the wake of a city council workshop that looked at raising water rates to make investments in pipes and pumps in areas of the city where housing construction has been booming.

The Wednesday break impacted the area of Treeline Avenue and Forum Boulevard to Daniels Parkway, including:

  • Forum Boulevard

  • Promenade East and West

  • The Colonnades

  • Cypress Legends

  • Colonial Country Club

  • Treeline Elementary

  • Pelican Preserve

  • Botanica Lakes

  • Bridgetown,

  • Marina Bay

  • Arborwood

  • Somerset at the Plantation

  • Legacy Gateway

City considers raising water rates to support growth

So far, it is believed that 800,000 gallons of water have soaked into the ground as a result of Wednesday's pipeline break, which caused flooding on Treeline Avenue.

That is a significant hit for a city that has been working to improve its water distribution system in the neighborhoods such as Treeline Avenue and the Forum, as well as in other residential areas in the city's southside, where new construction has brought complaints of low water pressure in existing homes.

The official word from city hall: Residents in the areas from Treeline Avenue to Forum Boulevard are facing the most significant issues with water supply, much of it brought on by new residential construction.

Earlier this month, the city started to take a look at the need to raise water rates, after several years of holding the rate steady. Increases in water fees have been recommended by a consultant to the city, in part because the city has been making a significant investment in improving the water supply system and needs to improve its capacity to provide water.

Other water main breaks have hit the city in the recent past. In December, a break happened at Edison Avenue and Rockfill Road.

During a water crisis last year, the city had to rely on an agreement with Lee County to supply water for a couple of months to make sure supplies were adequate.

Some residents have complained to the city that as new residential communities are developed, existing homes are experiencing difficulty in having adequate water on hand for drinking as well as for bathing and other uses.

The city 's water consultant, Jeff Dykstra from the Fort Myers office of Stantec, a Canadian engineering design firm, said the city needs to raise water rates to recover the costs of new construction adding to the water system.

At a special city council meeting a couple of weeks ago, Dykstra told the city council that it might want to consider a plan in which new water customers pay their share of the cost of expanding the water system, while the cost to existing customers is minimized.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Florida Boil Water Notices: Two water main breaks in a week