Water

Charlotte County residents concerned that flooding from Hurricane Helene may have contaminated their private wells can test their water for free while supplies last.

The annual temporary modification in the disinfection process of the drinking water supply of the Marco Island and Marco Shores service areas is now underway.While residents may notice a change in taste, odor and color of their water there are no adverse health effects produced by the change.

Charlotte County residents concerned their private wells may have been contaminated by flooding from Hurricane Debby, can test your water at no cost through Aug. 9.

Lee County Utilities customers may notice a temporary change in taste, odor and color of their waterLee County Utilities will be temporarily converting its disinfectant process from chloramines to free chlorine residual from May 1 through 21.

A group seeking to make clean water a constitutional right in Florida has restarted efforts to get the measure on the ballot.The FloridaRighttoCleanWater.org committee fell short of collecting nearly 900,000 valid signatures of registered voters for placement on the 2024 ballot. But the committee now is aiming to get its proposal before voters in 2026.

A water line break in LaBelle Monday forced the city to shut down service to the entire city for hours.The water main break was located at the corner of Bridge Street and Park Avenue.

A boil water notice issued Wednesday for an area around Treeline Avenue in Fort Myers has been expanded.The original notice included all residences & businesses in the vicinity of Treeline Ave, and Forum Blvd to Daniels Pkwy Including:Forum, Promenade East and West, The Colonnades, Cypress Legends, Colonial Country Club, Treeline Elementary, Pelican Preserve Botanica Lakes, Bridgetown, Marina Bay, Arborwood, Somerset At The Plantation, and Legacy Gateway.The expanded notice includes the Olympia point sub division, and the Sherwood subdivision, including the Publix shopping center on Lee Boulevard. The Lee County recycling center was also impacted and will be on the Boil Water notice as well.

The groundwater that supplies farms, homes, industries and cities is being depleted across the world, and in many places faster than in the past 40 years, according to a new study that calls for urgency in addressing the depletion.The declines were most notable in dry regions with extensive cropland, said researchers whose work was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. On the plus side: they found several examples of aquifers that were helped to recover by changes in policy or water management, they said.

The South Florida Water Management District is offering grants to pay up to half the cost to develop alternative water supplies that will help meet the growing demand

Even the defunct Bobby Jones golf course has contributed to water quality improvements in Sarasota Bay so that waters are cleaner now than at any time over the past 10 to 15 years