Fort Myers residents skeptical the city can solve its water problems

The City of Fort Myers is starting the process of becoming independent when it comes to water on Wednesday.

The city has been using the county’s water to help with the demand from more people moving to the area.

WINK News asked Irwin, who has lived in Southwest Florida for 10 years, how he feels about the water situation in Fort Myers. He said, “Terrible.”

Irwin is not the most optimistic man, but he has a reason to feel this way. “Yeah, when I flush the toilet, it turns brown,” said Irwin. “They gotta do something about it, that’s for sure.”

The city is doing something about it. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the days the city transitions back to supplying its residents with its water instead of using water purchased from Lee County for $173,000 a month.

“Lack of planning. I guess that’s the easiest way to describe it,” said Roger Lewandowski, who has lived in Southwest Florida for 50 years.

Lewandowski has lived in Southwest Florida since before they built I-75.

“In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen one tremendous thing in the entire county and the city. They don’t plan ahead,” Lewandowski said.

He thinks that although the city has already made it through some rough waters. He said the current issues result from poor leadership.

Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson agrees. He blames the former administration for this water mess he says he inherited.

“We’ll never have good water. Rusty,” said Mary Jane, who has lived in Southwest Florida for 11 years.

Jane can’t even do laundry in peace. “I just have to watch when I do laundry. So you know, I don’t use the water if I don’t have to.”

The mayor believes by the weekend, early next week at the latest, the people in the Treeline neighborhood will see the beginning of the end of their water woes.

If you live in Fort Myers and are among those who have been getting water from Lee County for the last several weeks like the folks in Treeline, the city recommends you avoid turning the water on inside and outside your home from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the next three days.

The city says your water quality might change, including cloudy or discolored water. They recommend running the water for a couple of minutes until the water runs clear.