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Utility Expansion Project (UEP) Update

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Public Works Committee Hat

The City's UEP Project Master Plan Update

On February 23, 2022 City Council was updated by the Cape Coral Utilities Director on the final results of the ongoing Utility Expansion Project (UEP) Master Plan. If you remember from the November 2021 NWNA update on the UEP, City Council and the Mayor had requested that the engineers re-evaluate sequencing and scheduling of some of the areas planned for utility expansion.  This re-evaluation is now complete and the Master Plan is being finalized.  This memo gives you a summary of this Master Plan which will be the guidance document that the City uses for the entire UEP going forward.

All service areas are presented in the graphic below along with anticipated operational dates.  The second graphic depicts all projects expected to be complete by 2027.  Following the graphics is a brief summary of the Master Plan:

Service Areas and Anticipated Schedule

Mape of sections of a city

Projects Anticipated to be Complete by 2027

Map of cape coral
1.      North 2 is complete.

2.      North 1 is the next area to receive utilities. This area is currently under design and construction is expected to begin in late 2022. Construction will take approximately 2 years.

3.      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. Design is expected to start this coming summer. Construction will likely start in late 2023 and be complete approximately 2 years later.

4.      Also expected to be completed by 2027 is an 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 Burnt Store Road and the western portion of Pine Island Road. Much of this expansion may be funded by the Hudson Creek project. Additionally, a new 22,000-foot sewer main on Veteran’s Parkway will be constructed which is necessary for future sewer expansion.

5.      By 2027, the existing North Reverse Osmosis Water Plant (potable water) on Kismet Parkway will to be expanded from 6 to 18 million gallons per day (mgd) and the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility (wastewater) will be expanded to 20 mgd.

6.      Anticipated operational dates for the remaining service areas are as indicated in the top graphic. Additionally, a new Water Reclamation Facility (wastewater) will be constructed in the Northwest, adjacent to the existing North Reverse Osmosis Plant, to support sewer expansion in the years following 2027.

 

Costs for the above projects through 2027 are anticipated to exceed $1 billion (yes…billion). Some of this cost will be borne by developers, but much will be borne by the City and the users of the system. The Utilities Department is requesting an annual 3 percent increase to user rates starting in FY 2023.

 

Again, these costs are on a macro scale, and it's too early to speculate what each homeowner will pay, but it's likely that the users in North 1 and North 3 will be paying similar assessments as those paid in North 2.

If you have comments and questions that you believe are appropriate at this point in the planning process you may email me at publicworks@nwcape.com. I will prepare a consolidated response of appropriate comments to the city. You may certainly contact your City Council Member directly if you prefer.

 

Don Freeman, P.E.

NWNA Public Works Committee