Water

The Charlotte County Utilities Department has declared a precautionary boil water notice for some customers in parts of Rotonda and the west county area due to repairs made to a water line.

The lack of water has become dangerous for local ecosystems, but as far as drinkable water supply is concerned, officials say they’re not panicking yet. Even if the drought continues through this year’s rainy season, officials are confident they can refill the supply before the end of the summer.

Suncoast Searchlight reviewed water-restriction complaints and enforcement records across Sarasota County during Southwest Florida’s most severe drought in nearly a decade and found municipalities are taking sharply different approaches to enforcement. While some jurisdictions actively patrol for violations and issue citations, others rely primarily on education and warnings and provide few clear ways for residents to report violations. We also examine how the drought has heightened public scrutiny over water use, with hundreds of residents filing complaints about sprinklers, lush lawns and suspected overwatering during the regional shortage.

Lee County Utilities alerts customers to scheduled water outage and upcoming precautionary Boil Water Notice in parts of North Fort Myers. Interruption due to necessary valve and pipe upgrades.

A water service interruption is scheduled for customers between Dorchester and Yorkshire streets south of Bachmann Boulevard and north of Quesada Avenue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Feb.9 through Tuesday, Feb.10.

A water service interruption is scheduled for customers between Dorchester and Yorkshire streets south of Quesada Avenue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 2 through Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Southwest Florida’s water managers have ordered the residents in 16 counties from Lee to Levy — along or near Florida’s Gulf Coast — to cut back on water use. The "Phase 1 water shortage restrictions” sound dire but leave in place local lawn-watering schedules as abundant as twice a week and appear to be more about priming residents for more severe weather conditions in 2026.

SWFL’s population continues to boom with Charlotte County seeing a nearly 19% increase in new residents since 2020. One of the struggles the region is facing is access to clean water.

Ground was broken on the 79th restoration project in 6 years.

City crews are on scene near Del Prado North, working to fix a water main break. Water is estimated to be off for approximately four to eight hours, and all hydrants will be out of service until repairs are completed.