Lee schools asked to help bail out Fort Myers' low water pressure crisis
Bill Smith
The city of Fort Myers is turning to the Lee School District for some help to solve the city's low water pressure crisis.
Fort Myers' water supply problems are caused by the combination of slow maintenance and upgrade work and increased demand. It is reducing water pressure in homes and schools.
The city and school district have agreed to dig new wells on school property at the Ray V. Pottorf Elementary School on Challenger Boulevard and at the Dunbar Middle School on Winkler Boulevard.
From earlier:Low water pressure plagues Fort Myers; new facilities, county hookup may help
Related story:Fort Myers council member apologizes for city's slow response to water issue
School board members agreed to the contract with the city Tuesday night.
Fredrick Ross, executive director for operational planning for the school district, told the board that wells on school property will help get the city gain access to a new flow of raw water.
"Their solution is to install wells at several different locations across the city," Ross said. "They need access to do so. (The wells) will not be close to the school, they will be outside the gated area of the school," Ross said Tuesday. "We are looking to get this done so they can get to work on this project."
Ross said drilling for water would take about 87 days, then it would take 10-12 months to install the well.
The school district has a procedure to roll out portable toilets and handwashing stations when the water pressure goes too low.
Board members were told that the school district has "low water protocol" that can take effect to manage situations when water pressure falls in the school buildings.
"The city is aware it is taking water pressure from the schools, but the city is aware," Ross said. "They are working with us. They actually monitor with us to increase pressure while the school is open and decrease it after."
"They are really anxious to get going," he said. "It's a citywide issue that they're dealing with. It kind of comes from last off-season when not as many snowbirds went home as usual and kind of used up a little more water than the city's used to them using."
The Fort Myers program to restore optimal water pressure will include rehabilitating water tanks that have been pulled out of service and upgrading water treatment facilities.
Lee County has also been asked to help out and is evaluating a request from Fort Myer City Manager Marty Lawing that the county sell water to the city, a solution that may see difficulty since the city and county use different chemicals to treat water.