The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a number of contracts including a water reclamation facility on Fort Myers Beach, improving roads in Lehigh Acres and a Drainage Improvement Project in east Lee County.
Fort Myers Beach Water Reclamation Facility
A contract for the design, permitting and construction engineering will help restore the Fort Myers Beach Water Reclamation Facility and enhance its capacity.
The competitively bid, $14.5 million contract was awarded to CDM Smith. The project will include rehabilitating the Water Reclamation Facility, which has experienced a loss of treatment capacity, has aging infrastructure, and sustained extensive damages due to Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
In July 2022, prior to Hurricane Ian, the County completed a master plan for the Fort Myers Beach Water Reclamation Facility. The goal of the master plan was to outline a schedule of recommended plant improvements to increase treatment capacity to handle the projected future flow conditions through the year 2050, ensure long-term efficient operation and performance, and meet the state requirements of Advanced Water Treatment.
During Hurricane Ian's landfall in September 2022, the facility suffered severe damage due to flooding, causing saltwater intrusion and submersion to many of the facility’s buildings. The facility had a widespread electrical failure of equipment located at ground level due to on-site storm surge between 5 and 7 feet.
The master plan was then updated to include additional repairs and replacements needed and enhancements for increased resiliency measures for future protection and mitigation against climate vulnerabilities.
Also on Tuesday, the Lee Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution approving the Fort Myers Beach Water Reclamation Facility Master Plan. This approval authorizes Lee County to submit the Plan to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for low-interest State Revolving Fund loans for the facility.
The project’s total estimated cost is $208.6 million. Construction is anticipated to start in 2025.
Contracts improving Lehigh Acres local roads
Three contracts will help to resurface local neighborhood roads and related improvements for the extensive Lehigh Acres road network.
Lee County Department of Transportation maintains about 1,500 miles of paved roads in Lehigh Acres and the Board of County Commissioners has committed to $5 million annually to the effort. Contracts are typically approved throughout the fiscal year.
“The Board has made a significant commitment to Lehigh Acres and it has greatly improved the community’s neighborhood streets,” said Commission Chairman Mike Greenwell, whose district includes Lehigh Acres.
Each year, certain roads in Lehigh Acres are ranked and selected for paving based on resident requests, road conditions and the number of residences on the road.
The contracts approved Tuesday are:
- $1.35 million with Preferred Materials Inc. to resurface more than 50 road segments, intersection improvements and ADA improvements.
- $1.3 million with Pavement Maintenance, LLC, to resurface about 50 road segments.
- $343,508 with Russ Berner Construction Inc. to resurface about 25 road segments.
Work is expected to begin this month.
Contract for water quality and flood mitigation project
A contract for the Sunniland/Nine Mile Run Drainage Improvement Project in east Lee County is expected to improve water quality and mitigate flooding for downstream properties.
The project will replace dysfunctional weirs to restore flow control and increase storage in the drainage ditch system, improving groundwater recharge and additional nutrient uptake by plants. Proposed operable gated weir structures will mitigate flooding with the ability to draw down water levels ahead of a major storm event.
Nine Mile Run is a tributary to the Caloosahatchee River, which has a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for total nitrogen (TN) and is currently subject to a State of Florida Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP). This project helps achieve the goals of the Caloosahatchee River Watershed Protection Plan and the Caloosahatchee Estuary Basin Management Action Plan and the Conservation 2020 Land Stewardship Management Plan.
The $1.49 million contract is with Fort Myers-based Thomas Marine Construction. The project also was awarded a $300,000 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The Sunniland property was formerly a state facility that is now leased and managed by Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Lee County staff worked with FGCU and the state to acquire a drainage easement to implement the project. The approximately 2,000-acre drainage area for the Nine Mile Run watershed is generally bounded on the north by Orange River and the Sunniland Canal, on the east and south by Buckingham Road, and on the west by a portion of Pangola Drive. The area is predominately undeveloped or low density rural residential.
For more information about Lee County’s water quality initiative, visit www.leegov.com/water.
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