CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Six months later, people in North Cape Coral are still facing a water shortage.
Many residents Cape Coral Community Correspondent Bella Line spoke with believe it's the population boom to blame.
"The city needs to step up and say 'stop building until we have something in place,'" said Sue Stella, who has lived in Northwest Cape Coral for three years.
"They should put the moratorium on," said another resident who wanted to stay anonymous. "Bring in the infrastructure, let the infrastructure catch up."
According to Tom Hayden, a city council member, the City of Cape Coral currently sits at 55% build-out.
So, as city leaders search for answers, people brought their own to Monday's Water Conservation Town Hall.
"I don't believe that's necessarily the answer right now," said Hayden. "You know, we have to look at the other things that we can do, because there are state regulations that we have to abide by when it would come to any moratoriums. We have to be smart about our conservation of water and what that means for the environment."
Hundreds of residents in North Cape Coral are still fighting this shortage, an issue that dates back to November of 2023.
"Right now there should be no watering," said Stella. "Yes, everybody wants a pretty green yard. We all do. It's not gonna happen in a drought."
The city's solution for now is telling people to reduce their water use and enforcing irrigation schedules.
"We're in difficult situations with lack of rain, but protect our water supply for the next 20 or 30 years and start to get that messaging out now," said Hayden.
