The Lee Board of County Commissioners Tuesday voted to award a $1.8 million contract for a a Regional Alternative Source Water Study in east Lee County and Lehigh Acres and a $174,334 proposal to develop a countywide wildfire protection plan.
South Florida Water Management District has identified potential overuse of the Sandstone Aquifer in the Lehigh Acres area. In addition, new developments and increased demand for potable water is occurring along State Road 80 and State Road 82. The study will include recalibration of hydraulic models taking into consideration growth projections.
The project approved Tuesday includes a comprehensive water supply study to assess a sustainable water source for Lehigh Acres public water supply. The study will review and evaluate all components of the Lehigh Acres public water system, assess groundwater data and is inclusive of the installation of up to three clusters of test wells.
The $1.8 million professional services contract was awarded to Fort Myers-based engineering consultant Black & Veatch Corp. The project is funded by CDBG-DR Planning Grant funds and addresses infrastructure objectives identified in the ResilientLee Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Wildfire proposal
The study is expected to be complete in about 18 months.
The proposal to develop a Lee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan is designed to examine the risk of wildfire and build a consistent approach to address wildfire response, mitigation and preparedness.
A $174,334 proposal from SWCA, Inc., an environmental consultant, was selected to create the plan. In April, the Board awarded a planning grant funded through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery to Lee County Public Safety for the plan.
This project will create the county's first community wildfire protection plan, which will include the increased risk of wildfire associated with trees downed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
The plan will address objectives identified in the ResilientLee Recovery and Resilience Plan. Funding for wildfire response, mitigation and preparedness is available through the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. However, under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, a Community Wildfire Protection Plan is necessary to apply for these funds.
The plan is expected to take 12 months to complete and will be done in advance of the August 2026 deadline for funding.
Related action
The Lee Board of County Commissioners also voted Tuesday to approve an agreement with Collaboratory to allow the county to address a series of objectives included in the $19.3 million Community Change Grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tackle environmental challenges related to disaster preparedness.
Lee County and Collaboratory announced in December that the EPA Community Change Grant had been received to address a series of initiatives in the ResilientLee Recovery and Resiliency Plan. Lee County has a series of objectives included, primarily within Emergency Management, including:
- Building out specifications for Resilience Hubs across the community.
- Coordinating with non-profit or governmental partners.
- Providing disaster-related programming and education to the community at these facilities.
The proposed subgrant agreement for these objectives is for $260,500.
The initiative will increase community resilience, reduce pollution and build community capacity.
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