![\"Bernie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790653811_502_ddf9d00f-3599-4647-a458-7e1fc2f02f60_1786129089.file.png\")
<\/a>CAPE CORAL, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\nResidents in Northwest Cape Coral will have to connect their homes to the city\u2019s water system within the next year, a project that has raised concerns about affordability. <\/p>\n
Pawell Swindo, who has lived in Cape Coral for eight years, expressed frustration over the upcoming costs. <\/p>\n
“I’m not prepared for it,” Swindo said. “Nobody’s prepared for this.” <\/p>\n
During a public meeting Monday, city council members reviewed the costs for the North 3 area of the Utilities Extension Project (UEP), which aims to replace well water with city water, sewer and irrigation services. <\/p>\n
The affected neighborhoods include areas between the Kismet and Embers parkways to the north and south, as well as the Old Burnt Store and Burnt Store roads to the east and west. <\/p>\n
Dan Miller, another Cape Coral resident, said he was aware of the project\u2019s costs when he purchased his home but hopes for a delay. <\/p>\n
“I’d prefer it be deferred for us. You know, I think it’s the development that’s driving [the cost] up [around] Burnt Store Road,” Miller said. <\/p>\n
Residents in the North 3 area will choose among the initial prepayment, interim prepayment and spread-out payment plans, with costs varying based on location. <\/p>\n
Those living west of Burnt Store Road will pay more than those living east of it, which the city says is due to the different infrastructure requirements between those areas. <\/p>\n
The default option is a 30-year payment plan that would be included in a person’s annual tax bill starting November 2027. In that case, the maximum annual payment would be $4,244 for people west of Burnt Store Road and $3,648 for people east of it. <\/p>\n
In the 25-year plan, the maximum annual payment rises to $4,532 in the west and $3,895 in the east. Those costs are higher in the 20-year payment plan, with properties west of Burnt Store Road having to pay $4,963 compared to $4,266 for properties east of the roadway. <\/p>\n
The initial prepayment period begins Nov. 3 and ends March 31, 2027. The average cost for single-family households west of Burnt Store Road that choose the initial prepayment plan is $41,029. Those east of the road would pay $35,264. <\/p>\n
The interim prepayment period is slightly costlier and begins April 1, 2027, and runs through July 31 that year. Households west of Burnt Store Road would pay $41,351 on average compared to $35,543 for those on the east side. <\/p>\n
For both prepayment options, the cost must be paid in full during the allotted period. <\/p>\n
“If I’m going to try not [to], you know, pay it through the long 30-year plan with all the interest, then it certainly is a hit on my budget,” Miller said. <\/p>\n
If your home receives potable water, wastewater and irrigation, you can choose different payment options for each of those services. For example, you can opt for the initial prepayment plan for your wastewater and the interim payment plan for potable water and irrigation. <\/p>\n
Costs associated with the UEP are separate from your monthly utility bill. <\/p>\n
The city says the utilities expansion process is necessary to provide safer and cleaner water to residents. During construction, temporary road closures are expected. <\/p>\n
Residents with low incomes who opt for the spread-out payment plan may qualify for the city\u2019s hardship program. Cape Coral may also use grants to help offset separate costs of connecting from the property line to homes. <\/p>\n
The city expects construction in the North 3 area to be completed by 2028. <\/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":"Residents face added costs for water system connection in Cape Coral CAPE CORAL, Fla. \u2014 Residents in Northwest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[2954,12044,209,211,210,3371,187,33449,6025,163749,10455,163739,28,163744,320,163746,163747,163741,82127,213,1276,163740,63575,121559,55499,163745,163742,66545,163743,7829,99630,33448,41085,96918,35717,163748,34715],"class_list":["post-413430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-area","tag-burnt-store-road","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-cape-coral-resident","tag-city","tag-city-water","tag-cost","tag-dan-miller","tag-east","tag-embers-parkway","tag-florida","tag-hardship-program","tag-home","tag-initial-prepayment","tag-irrigation-service","tag-irrigation-services","tag-kismet-parkway","tag-late-news","tag-north","tag-north-3","tag-northwest-cape-coral","tag-old-burnt-store","tag-old-burnt-store-road","tag-payment-plan","tag-payment-plans","tag-potable-water","tag-prepayment","tag-road-closures","tag-sewer-services","tag-uep","tag-utilities-extension-project","tag-utility-costs","tag-water-system","tag-water-system-connection","tag-well-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413430","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=413430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}