City officials warn Cape residents of water test scam

CAPE CORAL, Fla. Alan Shakman didn’t take a second glance when he saw a slip of paper he received in the mail with “Attention Florida Residents” written in red letters.

“I’ve heard of these companies,” he said. “They want to test your water and they come and test and they say, ‘Oh well, you need this kind of filter’or they just try to sell you things that you really don’t need.”

The paper, sent by South Florida Water Services, states a massive sinkhole near the world’s largest fertilizer plant has drained over 215 million gallons of contaminated radioactive waste in the Florida aquifer, which has “drastically affected the water quality throughout Southwest Florida.”

However, the city posted a warning on their Facebook page, warning residents the paper is a solicitation using false information to sell water filtration systems to customers.

“You just have to be alert that there’s a lot of people right now that are trying to find ways of taking your money,” Shakman said.

South Florida Water Services couldn’t be reached for comment.