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Fort Myers utilities brief council on water‑plant expansion; staff say project trimmed to $75M and online by 2028
Summary
Public utilities staff reported a long‑term water‑supply plan and a plant expansion to 15 million gallons per day, trimmed from a prior $100 million estimate to about $75 million through value engineering; staff expect the expanded facility online by 2028 and outlined well‑field and pipeline investments.
Public utilities staff on Tuesday provided an update on water supply, recent demand trends and a multi‑year capital program that includes a plant expansion and well‑field work.
Jason Shondre, assistant director of public utilities, said the city has about 3.2 million gallons per day of additional plant capacity relative to current demand and that permitted developments represent about 1.5 million gpd of demand. He said the planned plant expansion to 15 million gpd has been value‑engineered down from an earlier $100 million estimate to about $75 million and that the city has pursued legislative appropriations and low‑interest loans with principal forgiveness to reduce rate impacts. Shondre said staff plan the expanded facility to be online by 2028 and that parallel investments in wells and pipelines will support long‑term supply reliability.
Shondre reviewed raw‑water supply actions: the city has brought 11 wells online in 2022–23, has one current well under construction, and plans a total of 44 wells by the end of the decade (adding 16 new wells on top of existing capacity). For resiliency, he said the expansion includes additional generator capacity and more diesel storage to extend emergency runtime well beyond current levels.
Capital pipeline and linear projects described include a Michigan Avenue corridor reconstruction (road, sidewalk, bridge, water/sewer/stormwater improvements) and an Edison Avenue extension to Ortiz that will add east‑west connectivity and water/sewer service to new development areas. Shondre also said the IMAG elevated storage tank no longer meets structural code; staff have a demolition design and a contractor proposal of about $450,000 and recommended removing the tank before hurricane season to reduce liability.
Shondre said the utility plans to ask the council for additional funding in the next budget year for targeted pipeline renewal and replacement and highlighted a longer‑term need to spend roughly $20 million per year to maintain a reasonable lifecycle replacement program for buried assets.
