Cape Coral creates Well Data Portal
Home owners — and would be buyers — now can find essential facts about on-site private wells online, thanks to a new city data site.
Cape Coral City Manager Mike Ilczyszyn said city staff has been working for the last several weeks on making information available for private wells, through a “Well Data Portal.”
The portal will allow prospective buyers, existing homeowners, Realtors, home inspectors, and anyone else engaged in real estate transactions with the opportunity to look at well information — the depth of the well, who drilled the well, how old the well is and when it was drilled.
That data previously existed in three areas, before being consolidated into one central location showing both paper and electronic records.
“The goal is to allow our community, and the businesses that operate in this field to be able to pull up an address, identify the well, engage in a real estate transaction and begin those discussions,” Ilczyszyn said.
According to the city, well information matters because it gives homeowners a better understanding of their well depth and maintenance history, which is just as important as the age of the home’s roof and air conditioning system.
The city encourages individuals to take four steps:
• Ask about well depth and maintenance history before purchasing a home.
• Negotiate for well re-drilling if needed
• Confirm with Realtor whether the property is connected to city irrigation and if the well has been properly abandoned, as required by city ordinance.
• Check for water restrictions, or history of shortages.
The portal can be accessed at www.CapeCoral.gov/WellDataPortal.
Melissa Mickey, city communications manager, took council members through a step-by-step process of how to use the portal during Wednesday’s meeting. She said there is a how-to video on the main page, as well as some FAQ, so individuals can educate themselves on the topic.
Ilczyszyn gave an example of what the different depth meant. He said when a well driller sets up a well rig and digs a hole into the ground there is a total depth where the bit stops. The casing depth is where a PVC pipe sits.
The two examples were 240 feet for where the drill bit hit, and 175 feet where the PVC pipe goes down to in the water table.
Mickey said individuals can click search city records and plug in an address and information about the well will be shown. She said there are three areas in which an individual can obtain the information – through a public records request and through scanned documents.
The legacy scanned documents can be printed from that page, and if a public records request is needed, the website will redirect to either Cape Coral for a records request, or Lee County.
The responses from City Council were positive.
“I love this,” Councilmember Rachel Kaduk said. “I know that my district will be using it. I get this question every day. If any Realtors are watching and listening — this is a great negotiation tool for buying in the northeast, or northwest.”
Councilmember Bill Steinke said he will be assisting in producing an education and training video for all Realtors, so they have the education and ability to use the tool with their customer.
“It is a joint effort, and I am more than happy to do what I can to help,” he said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com