FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers is investing $80 million to expand its water treatment plant, a project designed to secure clean drinking water for the next two decades as the facility approaches its capacity limits.
"We're somewhere between 80-90% of the capacity of the existing plant. We've looked out over the timeline in the years to come, and we know when we're going to need to have that future capacity available," said Jason Sciandra, assistant director of City of Fort Myers Public Utilities.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's report:
Three months into construction, the expansion project is already taking shape. The plan includes adding three new treatment trains, each capable of cleaning 3 million gallons of water daily.
The existing reverse osmosis water treatment plant has been operating 24 hours a day since its construction in 1991, with an upgrade in 2002.
It currently serves nearly 100,000 residents with a rated capacity of 13.04 million gallons per day while processing an average daily demand of up to 9 million gallons.
Sciandra explained that the expansion will prevent past water supply issues from recurring.
"We had a lack of water supply that made us have to lower pressures, and that was a big impact on residents. We're not going to revisit that again," Sciandra said.
Sciandra says the city has already seen improvements in water quality and concerns about pressure.
"Our number of complaints on pressure have gone down. Our number of complaints and dirty water issues have gone down," Sciandra said.
The expansion project includes several critical improvements beyond just increasing capacity. The city is installing additional treatment equipment to address source water limitations and provide operational flexibility when raw water quality fluctuates. Backup systems will maintain uninterrupted service during maintenance or unexpected events.
The existing system draws water from 27 wells in the Upper Floridan Aquifer and uses 2-stage reverse osmosis membrane units to treat brackish source water.
The expansion will modernize infrastructure to improve efficiency and control, while upgrading electrical systems to enhance reliability and reduce energy consumption.
"This investment marks a significant advancement in our long-term vision to become the leading municipal utility provider in Southwest Florida," said Sciandra. "We are not only expanding the facility's capacity to meet demand through 2040 but also implementing critical resiliency measures to safeguard against potential shifts in water quality driven by population growth and climate change."
Many residents have expressed concerns about potential rate increases to fund the project. Sciandra addressed these worries directly.
"Right now, our rate is a 5% rate increase, and that's annually for the next five years, but that gets approved each year by council," Sciandra said.
The city has selected Carollo Engineers to provide construction engineering and inspection services for the expansion project.
"We are honored to partner with the City of Fort Myers to oversee the delivery of this vital project," said Carollo Project Manager Tom Seacord. "Our team brings broad experience in reverse osmosis system design and construction, and we look forward to providing expert contract administration services for successful project completion."
The city anticipates that the project will be completed by spring 2028, with no interruptions to water services during construction.
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