Cape Coral ordinance would mean pricier irrigation systems

Cape Coral’s proposed draft water ordinance would create new, costlier standards for all new irrigation systems in the city.

Water is at once our most precious commodity and one of our most wasted.

“We need to cut back, and I think it’s something everybody needs to try and do so that we’ll all have water to drink,” said former Cape Coral teacher Pat Connelly. “I think it’s simple as that.”

Cape Coral officials say as much as 50% of the city’s irrigation water is wasted as a result of evaporation, wind, or runoff. And people waste water inside their homes, too.

“Sometimes people don’t think to turn the spigot off when they’re washing their dishes,” said Connelly. “Or they maybe make more than one load of laundry, not take two and put them into one.”

“Water’s, you know, a finite resource, especially in a place like this where it’s so salty,” said neighbor Chase Hedrick. “But if it’s just gonna come down to where we’re gonna have to be paying like an excise tax for it, then I’m really not in full support of it.”

But Cape Coral is considering a new ordinance. Anyone with existing irrigation systems must adhere to the current twice-weekly watering schedule. If those property owners decide to install an irrigation system with soil sensors and a smart controller, they can apply for a variance from the two-day schedule because those systems only water when the sensor says the area needs to be watered.

And if this ordinance passes, there will be a new landscape irrigation permit fee for any new residential and commercial irrigation systems and modifications totaling more than $2,500.

“It’s important that they revamp it,” said neighbor Cindi Dunn. “It’s cheaper, really, in the long run. And it’s more sanitary.”