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Fort Myers Beach utilities official says town water meets federal standards in 2025 report
Summary
Vanessa, the town's utilities compliance coordinator, told the Town Council the 2025 Consumer Confidence Report shows Lee County‑supplied water met federal limits for radionuclides, inorganic contaminants, nitrates and disinfectant by‑products; she said two lead samples from older homes were below action levels and that fluoride was removed in 2025.
Vanessa, the town's utilities compliance coordinator, told the Town Council on June 1 that Fort Myers Beach’s water system — supplied by Lee County’s Green Meadows and Corkscrew plants — met federal safety standards in the 2025 Consumer Confidence Report.
The report covers testing conducted from Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025, Vanessa said. She outlined routine monitoring for radiological contaminants, inorganic substances (including arsenic and barium), nitrate and nitrite (tested annually), disinfectant by‑products such as TTHMs and HAAs, and lead and copper sampling conducted every three years.
Vanessa said both treatment plants were “under the MCLs” (maximum contaminant levels) for radioactive contaminants and that Lee County participates in a Source Water Assessment program that rates most wells as low concern. She summarized ranges of quarterly disinfectant by‑product measurements (TTHMs 16–23.7 parts per billion; HAAs 10–20.2 ppb) well under federal limits and repeated that nitrate and nitrite results were “very low.”
On lead and copper — a common local concern — Vanessa said the last sampling (2024) included 44 sites and produced two 90th‑percentile lead results at older houses built prior to 1969, but neither reached the EPA action level. “Those hits are likely internal plumbing,” she said, adding that such indoor plumbing issues do not necessarily indicate the distribution system is unsafe.
Council members pressed for clarity on testing frequency and recent changes. Vice Mayor Safford and Council members asked whether more recent monitoring for long‑interval tests had been performed; Vanessa said certain tests run on multi‑year cycles and noted Lee County likely tested for radium again in 2026 under a waiver schedule. The vice mayor also asked directly whether fluoride remains in the supply. Vanessa said Lee County removed fluoride in 2025.
Vanessa closed by encouraging residents with concerns to call the utilities office or the EPA drinking‑water hotline, and by saying the report will be posted for public review online.
What’s next: The town will post the full 2025 report for residents and staff said routine monitoring will continue; citizens with specific concerns about lead in older homes can request targeted in‑home sampling from the utilities office."
