FORT MYERS, Fla. — A boil order for all of Fort Myers was lifted Thursday by the State Department of Environmental Protection.
It’s been six days since a water main break in Fort Myers caused 92,000 residents to be under a boil water advisory.
City crews fixed the break near the intersection of Edison Avenue and Rockfill Road.
Water samples were sent to the State Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday evening.
It took nearly 24 hours for most of the order to be lifted with the additional
areas rescinded on Thursday.
“I wonder about it every time I turn my faucet on. I wonder if it’s safe,” said Forrest in downtown Fort Myers.
DEP gave the all-clear to all parts of the city including the Somerset at Plantation subdivision, the Legacy Gateway subdivision, Heritage Palms subdivision, and residents and businesses within the boundaries of Deleon Street on the East, Medical Lane on the South, Bowling Green Blvd. on the West, and Orangewood Ave. northward to Manor Ave.
Those areas got final clearance to require additional bacteriological sampling, according to city officials.
Fox 4 Investigates dug up the state’s standard operating procedures when it comes to boil water advisories.
Samples are taken to a lab in Fort Myers where technicians test the PH levels and look for harmful chemicals like cyanide, chlorine, or ammonia.
“It’s just something they have to do when it’s broken,” said Ari But, a snowbird from the Netherlands who has spent the last 17 winters in southwest Florida.
“For me, from the Netherlands we have a better infrastructure there. Your pipes may be older. So, we never have bad water. Never,” said But.
The city of Fort Myers has touted its five-year plan to improve the infrastructure in the city.
