Fort Myers Beach residents shrug off issues caused by water main break

Reporter: Tiffany Rizzo Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published: Updated:

A Saturday night water main break on Fort Myers Beach put a boil water notice into effect for a community trying to get back up and running after Hurricane Ian.

People and businesses on Fort Myers Beach had to take extra precautions, but people told WINK News that after the past five months, they’re used to not having water at all. Having to boil it is the least of their worries.

People at Snug Harbor Waterfront Restaurant say the break was no problem because “we drink margaritas.”

“I don’t think he boiled this, but it’s on the rocks,” said one customer. “We’re here for a good day, we love it. The sun may not be shining that great, but we’re enjoying our day.”

More booze than water was definitely flowing on Super Bowl Sunday, the most festive possible solution to the water main break on Estero Boulevard.

“Last night, I mean, we got we got back after going out to the open bars, and our water was off,” said Alyssa Whitty, who lives off Estero Boulevard along with her father, Tom. “We were like, ‘OK, not a big deal, because, you know, we had no water for forever.'”

The Whittys say they didn’t flinch when they heard about the break.

“Nothing new to us; we’re here right after the storm,” Alyssa Whitty said. “It wasn’t too much of an issue—we got power.”

“Yeah, power, running water,” Tom Whitty said. “Oh, my gosh, what luxuries, what luxury.”

They say just feel lucky to spend the day at the beach.

“We’re just so grateful to be here, we’re happy to be alive,” Alyssa said. “We’re happy to survive such a traumatic event, and it just brings us so much joy to be on the beach and enjoying life again.”

“We have electricity and running water and—believe it or not, this is a huge plus—our cable TV works, so we’re able to watch the big game tonight. So, we’re ecstatic about that.”

Fort Myers Beach said in a Facebook post that the people who live between Andre Mar Boulevard and Sabal may have a limited water supply until repairs are done. WINK reached out to the town government to find out when that may be, but has received no response.

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