Fort Myers water main break repaired, boil notice issued

A large water main break in Fort Myers has left many people without water or with low water pressure Sunday morning.

The break happened at the corner of Edison Avenue and Rockfill Road around 5 p.m. Saturday. The city said that the break was found at the bottom of a 12-inch pipe that supplies water to a 42-inch water main.

It took a team effort to fix the water main break by both city and county workers.

Impacted is a 42-inch water main that Liz Bello Matthews, with the City of Fort Myers, says was supposed to be minor and a simple fix.

Workers had trouble locating the break initially, but late Saturday night, water was restored to a large portion of the city.

There are still some sections of the city that have low water pressure.

“This is one of those key areas in the city that provides water to so many different sections, so what was initially impacted 42-inch water main that pretty important and substantial that’s why it was just so difficult to identify which section of the cities would be isolated,” said Matthews.

There is a city-wide boil water notice as a result of the break, so if you need to use water for drinking, cooking, making ice, or brushing your teeth, make sure you boil it for at least one minute.

Fort Myers says water sample tests results should be back on Monday or Tuesday. They will determine if the boil notice can be lifted.