Construction of Reclaimed Water Pipeline from Fort Myers to Cape Coral to Begin Soon

Originally published by WINK News on January 24, 2022

There’s a plan to keep the water flowing not down a river, but across a river. Progress is happening on an idea to move reclaimed water from Fort Myers to Cape Coral.

Caloosahatchee Connect construction will soon start on that pipeline to move water across the Caloosahatchee to be used for irrigation and fire protection.

The goal is to reduce withdrawals from freshwater canals and maintain water levels during the dry season.

the project will also reduce nutrient-laden recycled water from being discharged into the Caloosahatchee by the city of Fort Myers.

Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani sees the possible pros and cons of the project. “This particular project, I think, has some advantages. But there are still some questions out there. Where do these nutrient pollutants actually end up? So if you’re going to put it on the landscape in Cape Coral for irrigation, it’s not unreasonable to think that some of that’s going to come back and get into the surface water systems.”