Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cape Coral officials outline wellfield expansion, plant upgrades and 2.5‑billion‑gallon reservoir purchase
Summary
Utilities staff described a phased wellfield expansion, an 18 MGD upgrade at North Arrow plant, interconnects that already supply irrigation water and the recent purchase of a 2.5 billion‑gallon reservoir as long‑term resilience measures.
Utilities Director Jeff Pearson told the Youth Council and City Council that the city recently approved a wellfield expansion project (phase one adds six wells as part of a three‑phase program planned over five years) and is designing an 18‑million‑gallons‑per‑day upgrade at the North Arrow water‑treatment plant (from 12 MGD to 18 MGD). Pearson said the expansion and added wells will increase raw‑water supply for drinking and irrigation systems and help reduce dependence on private residential wells in parts of the northeast city that have faced scarcity.
Pearson added that the city purchased a reservoir in Charlotte County capable of holding about 2.5 billion gallons of surface water and has begun constructing a pipeline and pump station to transfer water into the city’s freshwater canal system. Staff reported they have already pumped more than 100 million gallons into the system since operations began last week and noted interconnections with Fort Myers and other utilities provide additional irrigation‑quality water (the Fort Myers interconnect supplies roughly 8 MGD).
Officials discussed aquifer and drought context: staff said aquifer levels have risen since regional phase‑four restrictions were implemented and that private wells are showing less drawdown. Pearson also described planned investments in reclaimed‑water infrastructure, including a new reclamation facility that would start at 6 MGD with room to expand to 17 MGD, and explained why an aquifer‑storage strategy (recovery wells) would be far more expensive and technically complex than the reservoir purchase (roughly 250 aquifer recovery wells would be needed to match 2.5 billion gallons, at an estimated $3–5 million per well).
Councilmembers and staff framed the reservoir purchase and pipeline work as proactive measures to diversify water sources and protect long‑term reliability. Pearson said additional well drilling and plant upgrades are staged to avoid overbuilding while ensuring capacity matches projected growth.
