CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Friday, the South Florida Water Management District issued a water shortage order for a section of Northeastern Cape Coral to help them save drinking water.
“People need to stop using their water for pretty grass,” said Cape Coral resident Lexi Burk.
Neighbors who live in Northeastern Cape Coral tell Fox 4 community corespondent Stephen Pimpo issues with the water supply have been building:
According to the SFWMD, all homes and businesses using private wells in the bellow area connected to the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer must stop using automatic or potable sprinkler systems for watering lawns or landscaping.
“There’s some people with some nice lawns around here and they’re going to be disappointed when they turn brown,” said Cape Coral resident Mark Laterza. “But mine is already brown.”
This is in an effort to conserve drinking water in the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer, which supplies water to area wells. Those using city water are not affected.
Burk, who works for Water Medic of Cape Coral and lives in a neighborhood off Wilmington Parkway, said many wells that rely on the aquifer have been having problems for two to three months.
“They’re coming home and they’re not having any water, their wells are drying up and we got to go out there and dig up their old wells and replace them with a new one or dig them down even deeper.”
Burk and Laterza both say that the constant development in the area is straining the water supply.
“They should have stopped permits for new houses a long time ago because they knew the water was dropping,” said Laterza.
The SFWMD said that as of Thursday, the monitoring well in the water shortage area is at -93.61 feet (North American Vertical Datum). If the water level falls below -103.01 feet (NAVD) it could potentially do irreversible harm to the aquifer.
