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Low water pressure in communities cements decision to hold a city-wide audit in Fort Myers

water pressure problems
Posted at 6:27 PM, Jan 19, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-19 20:11:32-05

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The struggle to get good water pressure.

That is just some of what Fort Myers City Council members heard on Tuesday as they decided to move closer to a city audit.

Fort Myers mayor Kevin Anderson told Fox 4 he was already on the path to wanting an audit of every city dollar.

Then he heard from people who live in communities like Heritage Palms and Pelican Preserve in eastern Fort Myers about what it's like, they say, to live with water pressure that does not work.

Homeowners living in eastern Fort Myers said they have been struggling with water pressure for years and in communities like Pelican Preserve and Heritage Palms, they said the water pressure gets worse for homes living in multi-level buildings.

Fort Myers Mayor, Kevin Anderson said this should have never gone on this long.

An experience he says reaffirmed his decision to conduct an audit he says will look into every city cent and every city operation.

“We need to understand where the city stands, where are we with our finances our operational processes. Are there any issues that are beneath the surface that we are not aware of, as we saw with the water problem,” said Anderson.

Anderson said the audit could take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to complete.

He told Fox 4 that during that time his office will remain what he called proactive and reactive to any issues they find.

As for the homes still struggling with water pressure, he said that process has already begun.

“We are already in the process of drilling additional wells and refurbishing existing wells. And evaluating wells that were taken offline to see if they can be brought back online,” said Anderson.

Mayor Anderson said that could take time and they are also exercising the idea of buying water from Lee County to fill the wells in these areas.