New watering schedule is now in effect
The Cape Coral City Council on Wednesday approved year-round, two-day irrigation watering schedule that promises to sharply reduce demand and save water.
The ordinance is effective immediately and applies to all Cape Coral residents and properties whether on private well or city water.
Residents still will have the same number of hours for irrigation, however, the new schedule increases the number of time slots from 12 to 20, according to the last number of your address This will reduce demand by 40 percent city officials said.
Watering times also will be increased by four hours per day, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and remove Tuesday as a non-watering day.
The new schedule will allow the city to better manage watering demand, pressure and flow, and it will improve water pressure for reclaimed water fire hydrants.
Councilmember Gloria Tate knew this has to be done, but was concerned as a Realtor what it would mean for residents.
“You have residents who are gone for six months, property managers we still don’t know in our database and tagging people for violations,” Tate said. “Property mangers have to go out and change things and notify the lawn people. It almost impossible for people who don’t live here to keep up.”
City Manager Rob Hernandez said even seasonal residents have a responsibility to keep up on what’s happening in the city and the city will get the message out.
In other business:
• Council heard a presentation from the Florida DOT regarding the replacement of the Cape Coral Bridge, which is set to happen in the next few years.The need for a new bridge is obvious. It has long outlived its expected lifespan and cannot accommodate the traffic it gets on a daily basis.
The plan is to expand the bridge from four lanes to six and take the bridge from having 334 crashes over a five-year span to zero.
Ideas for the 2.3-mile project includes a pedestrian walkway across Cape Coral Parkway, better landscaping, bike lanes and trails.
The design phase is expected to take four years, with construction expected to take another three. The new bridge should open by 2030. The bridge will be paid for by tolls collected on the bridge.
Councilmember Robert Welsh liked the walkway idea as it would be an excellent entrance into the city, but questioned why it would be paid for by the city and county and not tolls.
Mayor John Gunter understood they are in the first inning of a nine-inning game, but said there is a need for all of Lee County for the bridge and asked to be kept in the loop.
• Mayor John Gunter handed out various awards to city employees .
Among those recognized were members of City Manager Rob Hernandez’s task force, which spent nine straight days processing building-related permits backlogged when the city switched to a new online permitting system, allowing the city to catch up.
The city also got the Florida Water Environment Association Earle B Phelps Award for Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Facility Performance First Place Award for Cape Coral’s Southwest Water Reclamation Facility and was again named one of the country’s top 100 fleets for the seventh straight year.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com