UEP Progress by the City of Cape Coral - 2022

This past year saw the City of Cape Coral make considerable progress of the Utility Expansion Program (UEP).  Unfortunately, Hurricane Ian has slowed progress and the UEP has taken a backseat to repairing other critical infrastructure needs within the City.  Rest assured; the project will move forward. 

Work completed in 2022 included the following:

• Completion of construction and most punch-list items related to construction of utilities in North 2.
• Completion of much of the design of utilities in North 1 and bidding of several of the construction contracts.
• Completion of the overall City-wide UEP Master Plan.

A map detailing the utility areas is as follows:

Each of the above completed tasks is discussed briefly below.

Completion of North 2

While there are still some minor items to be repaired, installation of utilities in North 2 was essentially completed in 2022. Water, sewer and reclaimed water lines were brought to all residential and commercial properties within North 2.  Roads have been reconstructed, landscaping repaired, and currently there has been a good response from homeowners required to hook up to the new utilities.  For practical purposes, we are calling North 2 complete.

Completion of Design of Area 1

The City used much of what was learned in design and construction of North 2 and incorporated much of that into the design of North 1.  North 1 will be broken into 12 different construction contracts, all of which will be considerably smaller than those of North 2.  To date several construction contracts in North 1 have already been bid and the remaining ones will be shortly after the new year.  Construction in North 1 can be expected to be in full force in 2023. Please keep in mind that North 1 is completely in the NE section of Cape Coral.

UEP Master Plan

The UEP Master Plan is necessary to prioritize future areas for utility expansion, to identify existing infrastructure needs necessary to accommodate future expansion, to establish realistic schedules, and to establish preliminary cost estimate.  Please note that dates presented below are from the UEP Master Plan and will likely be adjusted due to Hurricane Ian impacts.

The following is brief summary of the findings and recommended improvements within future service areas. 

• North 3 will be the next area to receive utilities after North 1. This area is west of Burnt Store Road, north of the recently completed North 2 area, and extends north to Kismet Parkway.  North 3 is expected to be complete by 2025.

• Also expected to be complete by 2025 is expansion of utilities north on Burnt Store Road to the city line. This allows the planned Hudson Creek development to move forward and will spur commercial development along Burn Store Road.  Much of this expansion may be funded by the Hudson Creek project.  Finally, by 2025 a new 22,000 linear foot sewer main on Veteran's Parkway will be constructed which is necessary for future sewer expansion.

• By 2027, the existing North reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway needs to be expanded from 6 to 18 million gallons per day.

• By 2030, the city intends to construct utilities in the North 4 and North 5 areas. Also, a new water storage tank will be constructed in the northeast section of the city.

• By 2035, the city intends to construct utilities in North 6 and North 7 areas. The city also intends to build a new water reclamation facility (wastewater treatment plant) in the northwest.  The site is adjacent to the existing reverse osmosis water plant on Kismet Parkway near Chiquita Boulevard. 

• By 2040, the city intends to construct utilities in North 8 and North 9 areas.

• North 10 through North 12 areas are planned for 2045.

The City is progressing well on the UEP, although recent weather impacts have certainly impacted the planned schedule.  If you have comments or questions on work completed or on planned work, please contact me at publicworks@NWNA.com. 

Don Freeman, P.E.

NWNA Public Works Committee