FORT MYERS, Fla. — Are you a Fort Myers resident who's experiencing a change in your water pressure? We've heard your concerns and continue to ask questions to get to the bottom of what's going on.
City Hall is well aware of the changes in water pressure and says they are doing everything they can to fix the problem.
After buying more water from Lee County, they are flushing that water through hydrants all day and testing it to make sure it's properly treated and get that pressure back to where it's supposed to be.
"I live at Heritage Palms. 1,662 doors are complaining about water pressure," said Jim, a resident of Southwest Florida for 22 years, who says the water pressure has never been the same.
"When you put on the sink it comes out, but there's no force to it as far as in the shower you might as well kiss it goodbye," he said.
The City of Fort Myers says they were prepared for a population of around 67,000 people. With the growing population and the number of people who are staying in the area instead of just visiting, the water supply needs to serve roughly 97,000 people.
"Had it not been for the spike in population due to COVID and a lot of people staying throughout the summertime, it would not have presented this way," said Public Works Director Richard Moulton, "but the population that we've had has stayed high for the entire year, which has changed the way we can take wells off and on ... without any impact to the distribution system."
Homes developed in Ward 6 are not receiving enough water pressure, nor are high-rise complexes. Mayor Kevin Anderson says buying water was the solution in response to people who testified before the city council about the ongoing issue.
Flushing of hydrants continues and water is tested every seven minutes. The city plans on going through three phases of flushing address issues of quality. 56 hydrants were flushed as of Feb. 1.
"I think they should feel better about the fact that we are using all the tools in the toolbag to get us better pressure and that we're making those changes on the fly as we speak," said Moulton.
The city is testing for chlorine levels; Fort Myers water is treated with chlorine to disinfect, however, Lee County water being ported in is treated with chloramine, so the city must get a proper balance.
Moving forward, the city says plans are in the works by next year to have eight working wells. More wells plus more water should help with the problem.
Since the hydrant flushing is still occurring and so much water is going at high speeds, the likelihood of sediment in the water supply is higher. The city recommends you run your faucet for 3-5 minutes to help with any discoloration or possible sediments.
