\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAfter 23 years in northeast Cape Coral, Vanessa DiCillo\u2019s water supply \u2013 her lifeline \u2013 ran dry last year. “(I) was in the shower. I had the water on, and I jumped in the shower, and I’m taking a shower,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd all of a sudden, the water just stopped.” It happened last May. The Mid-Hawthorn aquifer \u2013 which her home relies on \u2013 had fallen to such a low level that her well could no longer pump water from it. “Laundry, shower, the toilets don’t work either,\u201d she said. “I wanted to cry, if I’m being honest.” DiCillo had to have her well drilled deeper \u2013 and pay $11,000 to get it done. “I had a little nest egg put away, single homeowner. That was my nest egg \u2014 boom,\u201d she said. WELL DRILLERS REMAIN BUSY IN NORTHEAST CAPE CORAL”Our availability of water is dropping. Drastically,\u201d Keith Brautigan told Gulf Coast News. Brautigan owns Irrigation Plus, a well-drilling company that does most of its work in northeast Cape Coral. Last year alone, he said, they were hired to redrill or replace 75 to 100 wells in the area. Because of the water shortage, they\u2019re now required to drill deeper. “Northeast Cape is in a crucial water state right now,\u201d he said. “There’s an old adage, ‘it takes a village to raise a kid.’ Well, it takes a community to save this aquifer.” EXPERTS POINT TO ONGOING DEVELOPMENT AS ROOT OF PROBLEM Water restrictions have been in effect for nearly two and a half years in the area. First, people could only use irrigation systems once a week. Now, use is banned altogether. \u201cThe growth has just overcome what the aquifer can produce,\u201d Mark Elsner explained. Elsner is with the South Florida Water Management District, the agency that issues the water shortage orders. He said the surge in development has led to the problems. \u201cWhen you have such a dense population, quarter-acre lots, on an individual well and septic tank, that’s really not the way to provide water and sewer to the residents,\u201d Elsner said. \u201cAll they do is say, \u2018use less water, water restrictions,\u2019 but yet they keep putting up houses,\u201d DiCillo said. \u201cThey’re sticking straws into an empty cup \u2014 more straws, more straws \u2014 into a cup that they know is already empty.” As part of a Joint Action Plan approved by the city council in Cape Coral last year, Lee County could stop issuing well permits in the area. But that only happens if the aquifer falls lower \u2013 to a certain point. DESPITE DROUGHT, AQUIFER SHOWING SIGNS OF RECOVERY \u201cWhat we’re seeing since the beginning of the dry season about three months ago, we’ve actually seen water levels increasing,\u201d Elsner said.Data from the monitoring well in northeast Cape Coral shows the dip \u2013 a record-low last May \u2013 but since then a mostly steady rise in the water level, even despite the recent drought. \u201cGiven that we’re in drought conditions, recharge is not as great, and we’re seeing an increasing water level, I think that\u2019s a good news story,\u201d Elsner said. UTILITIES EXTENSION PROJECT: THE SOLUTION, BUT A COSTLY ONEElsner admits \u2013 with dry season ongoing \u2013 the area isn\u2019t out of the woods yet. But he points to the water restrictions and the Utilities Extension Project as reasons for the recovery. Some homes in the shortage area have connected to city water and sewer, and utilities will be available to most by the end of next year, according to the city. \u201cThrough the city’s program, they’ve taken off around 800 straws out of the aquifer and put them on city water,\u201d Elsner said. For homeowners like Vanessa DiCillo, the solution to the water shortage is just another problem \u2013 a costly one. \u201cThere’s just no way to make ends meet,\u201d she said. Between city assessments and connection fees, it costs between $30,000 to $40,000 to get on city utilities once they are available. Amid a water shortage, DiCillo feels like she\u2019s drowning. \u201cI never thought I’d want to leave here,\u201d she said. \u201cI do love my home. But if I can’t afford to live, what are my options but to leave?\u201d Connecting to the UEP is required within 180 days of receiving a Notice of Availability.People can receive financial assistance if they qualify. A Cape Coral spokesperson said the city manager was not available to talk about the issue. The mayor initially agreed to an interview, but a spokesperson later said he was also not available. DOWNLOAD\u202fthe free\u202fGulf Coast News app\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tCAPE CORAL, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
After 23 years in northeast Cape Coral, Vanessa DiCillo\u2019s water supply \u2013 her lifeline \u2013 ran dry last year. <\/p>\n
“(I) was in the shower. I had the water on, and I jumped in the shower, and I’m taking a shower,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd all of a sudden, the water just stopped.” <\/p>\n
It happened last May. The Mid-Hawthorn aquifer \u2013 which her home relies on \u2013 had fallen to such a low level that her well could no longer pump water from it. <\/p>\n
“Laundry, shower, the toilets don’t work either,\u201d she said. “I wanted to cry, if I’m being honest.” <\/p>\n
DiCillo had to have her well drilled deeper \u2013 and pay $11,000 to get it done. <\/p>\n
“I had a little nest egg put away, single homeowner. That was my nest egg \u2014 boom,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
WELL DRILLERS REMAIN BUSY IN NORTHEAST CAPE CORAL<\/p>\n
“Our availability of water is dropping. Drastically,\u201d Keith Brautigan told Gulf Coast News. <\/p>\n
Brautigan owns Irrigation Plus, a well-drilling company that does most of its work in northeast Cape Coral. <\/p>\n
Last year alone, he said, they were hired to redrill or replace 75 to 100 wells in the area. <\/p>\n
Because of the water shortage<\/a>, they\u2019re now required to drill deeper. <\/p>\n “Northeast Cape is in a crucial water state right now,\u201d he said. “There’s an old adage, ‘it takes a village to raise a kid.’ Well, it takes a community to save this aquifer.” <\/p>\n EXPERTS POINT TO ONGOING DEVELOPMENT AS ROOT OF PROBLEM <\/p>\n Water restrictions have been in effect for nearly two and a half years in the area. <\/p>\n First, people could only use irrigation systems once a week. Now, use is banned altogether. <\/p>\n \u201cThe growth has just overcome what the aquifer can produce,\u201d Mark Elsner explained. <\/p>\n Elsner is with the South Florida Water Management District, the agency that issues<\/a> the water shortage orders. <\/p>\n He said the surge in development has led to the problems. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have such a dense population, quarter-acre lots, on an individual well and septic tank, that’s really not the way to provide water and sewer to the residents,\u201d Elsner said. <\/p>\n \u201cAll they do is say, \u2018use less water, water restrictions,\u2019 but yet they keep putting up houses,\u201d DiCillo said. \u201cThey’re sticking straws into an empty cup \u2014 more straws, more straws \u2014 into a cup that they know is already empty.” <\/p>\n As part of a Joint Action Plan<\/a> approved by the city council in Cape Coral last year, Lee County could stop issuing well permits in the area. <\/p>\n But that only happens if the aquifer falls lower \u2013 to a certain point. <\/p>\n DESPITE DROUGHT, AQUIFER SHOWING SIGNS OF RECOVERY <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we’re seeing since the beginning of the dry season about three months ago, we’ve actually seen water levels increasing,\u201d Elsner said.<\/p>\n Data<\/a> from the monitoring well in northeast Cape Coral shows the dip \u2013 a record-low last May \u2013 but since then a mostly steady rise in the water level, even despite the recent drought. <\/p>\n \u201cGiven that we’re in drought conditions, recharge is not as great, and we’re seeing an increasing water level, I think that\u2019s a good news story,\u201d Elsner said. <\/p>\n UTILITIES EXTENSION PROJECT: THE SOLUTION, BUT A COSTLY ONE<\/p>\n Elsner admits \u2013 with dry season ongoing \u2013 the area isn\u2019t out of the woods yet. But he points to the water restrictions and the Utilities Extension Project<\/a> as reasons for the recovery. <\/p>\n Some homes in the shortage area have connected to city water and sewer, and utilities will be available to most by the end of next year, according to the city. <\/p>\n \u201cThrough the city’s program, they’ve taken off around 800 straws out of the aquifer and put them on city water,\u201d Elsner said. <\/p>\n For homeowners like Vanessa DiCillo, the solution to the water shortage is just another problem \u2013 a costly one. <\/p>\n \u201cThere’s just no way to make ends meet,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Between city assessments<\/a> and connection<\/a> fees, it costs between $30,000 to $40,000 to get on city utilities once they are available. <\/p>\n Amid a water shortage, DiCillo feels like she\u2019s drowning. <\/p>\n \u201cI never thought I’d want to leave here,\u201d she said. \u201cI do love my home. But if I can’t afford to live, what are my options but to leave?\u201d <\/p>\n Connecting to the UEP is required<\/a> within 180 days of receiving a Notice of Availability.<\/p>\n People can receive financial assistance<\/a> if they qualify. <\/p>\n A Cape Coral spokesperson said the city manager was not available to talk about the issue. The mayor initially agreed to an interview, but a spokesperson later said he was also not available. <\/p>\n DOWNLOAD\u202fthe free\u202fGulf Coast News app<\/a>\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app<\/a> to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 23 years in northeast Cape Coral, Vanessa DiCillo\u2019s water supply \u2013 her lifeline \u2013 ran dry last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[34717,209,211,210,1127,2152,524,6739,848,75698,34076,1275,718,5204,1999,74662,20806,1283,4018,4103,69772],"class_list":["post-157876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-aquifer","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-construction","tag-development","tag-dry","tag-extension","tag-irrigation","tag-laundry","tag-mid-hawthorn-aquifer","tag-northeast","tag-order","tag-project","tag-residents","tag-restrictions","tag-shortage","tag-shower","tag-utilities","tag-water","tag-wells"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}