Water pipeline is win-win for Cape Coral, Fort Myers
The Caloosahatchee Connect project is complete: The cities of Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Fla., have created a pipeline across the Caloosahatchee River with the intent to transfer water from Fort Myers to Cape Coral.
How did they begin? Melissa Mickey, communications director for the city of Cape Coral, explained.
Project negotiations began in 2011 when Cape Coral Utilities Department Director Jeff Pearson began meeting with Fort Myers Public Works Director Saeed Kazemi about entering a partnership to assist Fort Myers to cease treated wastewater discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and provide Cape Coral with additional reclaimed water for its world-class irrigation system.
“The project came to fruition based on the complementary needs of the two cities,” Jason Sciandra, Fort Myers utilities public utilities engineer, concurred. “The city of Cape Coral has a rapid growth rate, as well as an established irrigation system. The city of Fort Myers had available treated effluent water that was being discharged to the Caloosahatchee River with no benefit to the natural environment. Seeing the opportunity to meet a water supply need for Cape Coral, coupled with the desire of Fort Myers to reduce or eliminate discharges to the river, we developed a long-term partnership to bring this project to fruition.”
But the pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the plan.
“The 2018 Agreement between Cape Coral and Fort Myers set a Jan. 15, 2023, deadline. However, supply chain issues, a delayed Army Corps of Engineers permit and a contractor protesting the original bid for the subaqueous portion of the project – which had to be rebid – all contributed to a one-year delay in completion of the project,” Mickey explained. “Both parties mutually extended the completion timeframe to December.”
Sciandra put it succinctly: “The city of Fort Myers was significantly impacted by supply chain delays.”
Another minor issue was that the weather varied between the two cities. “Construction projects in Southwest Florida are always challenged by weather conditions. Our contractor was prepared and ready to deal with the typical rainfall experienced during the rainy season. They also did a great job recovering time following Hurricane Ian,” Sciandra said.
Cape Coral received over $11 million in grant funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District to assist with the project. According to Sciandra, Fort Myers received multiple grants from the state of Florida for its components of the project. The balance was funded by Fort Myers utility’s wastewater fund and a bond issuance.
“That bond issuance will be repaid with revenues generated by the sale of reclaimed water to Cape Coral,” Sciandra said.
The project will help keep fresh water in the canals during the dry season, which will help the fire department with water pressure issues. The pipe will transmit millions of gallons of water a day that was formerly discharged into the river, and it will remove tons of effluents or harmful waste.
Both Sciandra and Mickey said the state of Florida and the public at large have been supportive of the project.
“The city council of the city of Fort Myers and the residents continue to provide strong support for this project, as it reduces the amount of treated effluent water the city discharges to the Caloosahatchee River,” Sciandra said. “This results in significant reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to the river.”
The state provided funding for approximately 50% of the overall project cost. Mickey said that the benefits are mutual to both towns, and Sciandra added, “The benefits are mutual, but each city benefits in different ways. Cape Coral has more reclaimed water available for meeting the demand of its ever-growing population, while Fort Myers benefits by reducing discharges to the Caloosahatchee River, and by retaining additional revenue to fund wastewater treatment projects.”
Regarding maintenance and upkeep, Mickey said the project infrastructure belonging to Cape Coral will require minimal maintenance. The terms for the city’s reclaimed water purchase are outlined in the 2018 Agreement and budgeted each fiscal cycle. The infrastructure constructed by the city of Fort Myers requires continued operational and maintenance costs, however.
“The additional costs are incorporated into the city’s annual operating budget and paid for with a portion of the revenue received from the city of Cape Coral.”
Now that all is complete, are both cities pleased with the overall project? Did it do everything they had hoped for? The answer was resounding.
“Yes, this is a transformational project for Southwest Florida, as the water is being recycled and harmful nutrients are no longer discharged into the Caloosahatchee River,” said Mickey. “Cape Coral citizens will continue reaping the benefits for years to come.”
Sciandra said Fort Myers is equally happy with the finished result. “The city of Fort Myers has been able to dramatically reduce the amount of treated effluent water discharged to the Caloosahatchee River and has already started receiving revenue from the sale of reclaimed water.”
Now complete, this large reclaimed water pipeline, which spans more than 7,000 feet, allows Cape Coral to transfer up to 12 million gallons of water daily from Fort Myers. With the sheer size of the Caloosahatchee Connect project, it required five years to complete. The city of Cape Coral, Fla., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the Caloosahatchee Connect project’s competition on Jan. 11, 2024. 
Fort Myers, Fla., held its own ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the successful completion of the Caloosahatchee Connect project. The bridges of Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Fla., across the beautiful Caloosahatchee River. (Shutterstock.com)
