CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Over a year later a Northeast Cape Coral neighborhood is still experiencing a very serious water shortage that started in November 2023.
Laurene Allen-Flower's home runs on well water from the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer in Cape Coral.
She spent $25,000 on a new well system after her original well dried up that's because water levels started dropping from the aquifer.
"Save the water, so yeah it's very concerning to me," Flower said.
Watch Fox 4 Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:
In December, the City of Cape Coral and the South Florida Water Management District called the water shortage "very serious" with a "drier than normal dry season expected".
The District first issued the water shortage in November 2023 for well water users anywhere in the yellow quadrant below.
Flower said, "The last two years, [there was] nothing but problems."
Even though she has a new well water system, she still has issues.
She said, "Our plumber told us one little grain of sand or sediment will back up the whole system, so that's why he has to keep coming out and we keep paying."
A graph from the district shows dropping water levels are spiking every few years.
For January 2024, the water level starts approaching the red line which indicates significant harm.
The district said levels within the aquifer are approaching a "record low".
In October, Fox 4 spoke with the district's Water Supply Bureau Chief Mark Elsner.
He said, "We need to remain diligent in our efforts trying to maintain that water level, so it doesn't fall."
Fox 4 reached out to the district for an update, but they have yet to respond.
Cape Coral said, "It is critical that residents follow the one-day-a-week watering schedule".
To help the issue, the city is also working on expanding the public water and irrigation system for homes in north Cape like Flower's, so they can move off the well system.
"We're spending all this money right now and then we're going to have money added to our taxes when we have to pay for their water, so if I'm paying this money anyway, I don't want the city water. I'll just deal with this," she said.
