Cape Coral mayor pulls possible solution to water shortage from council agenda

A possible plan to move 7,000 homes to city water was put on hold.

Cape Coral Community Correspondents Bella Line and Colton Chavez have introduced you to several homeowners who are having serious problems with their well systems.

With a possible solution on the table, still, not everyone is on board.

"We don't have time to wait we have to start the process now," said Joe Kilraine, a Cape Coral resident.

There is an urgency from people who want to pressure the city into doing something about the lack of water pressure in their homes.

"We moved into our house in northwest Cape about 9 years ago and within a couple of years there was a drought and we burned our pump out and we had to have the pump replaced," said Jay Higgins, who lives in northwest Cape Coral

Many of Jay Higgins' neighbors in northeast Cape Coral have low water pressure or not water at all. That's why he came to Wednesday night's city council meeting.

On the agenda was a plan to accept a $25 million grant to convert 7,000 properties from well and septic systems to the city's sewer system.

"I'm glad that they are trying to do something, so I'll give them that," said Higgins. "They're a little bit late to the game it seems like to me. This seems to be a planning issue and they seem to have no plan."

The City Council delayed a vote on this plan.

Mayor John Gunter pulled it from the agenda before council members could talk about it.

"They continually have to go deeper to reach water as a result of that the will cost is going to skyrocket," said Kilraine. "A well would be an incremental cost of $20,000. In addition to that those people when UEP comes to their site, they'll have to pay $35,000 In order to hook up that's $55,000 that's going to chase a lot of people out of the Cape."

For people like Higgins, the real solution may be for the city to put a moratorium in place for new construction.

"When you're talking about single-family homes all drilling wells, all going to be using water, I think that's really where you got to be," said Higgins.

Your Cape Coral Community Correspondents will watch the water situation and bring you ideas for solutions.