The City of Fort Myers will build two new water wells, using nearly $15 million that was awarded to the city last September.

The money is part of a $1.1 billion grant from the federal Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recover (CDBG-DR). The money was allocated following Hurricane Ian to help Lee County with long-term recovery.

“In the wake of Hurricane Ian, this essential infrastructure advancement increases drinking water access in traditionally underserved communities,” said City of Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson. “Since the size of the city has greatly increased, we’re working rapidly to ensure that the utilities system is able to meet the potable water needs of the expanding population and city first responders such as firefighters.”

The city did run low on water a few years ago, to the point where it needed to buy water from Lee County.

“We’re committed to contributing to the health and safety of the City’s growing utilities customers,” said Jessica McElwee, Grants and Special Projects Director for the City of Fort Myers. “This project will increase the reliability of the existing wellfield by adding up to 1.5 million gallons daily of raw water capacity, providing redundancy and resiliency for more effective and efficient operations.”

The two new wells are expected to produce up to one and a half million gallons of water per day. The city says that's enough to provide plenty of water for historically underserved communities for many years into the future.

Plans will be implemented within 24 months.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.