Cape Coral residents face water woes as drought grips Southwest Florida

CAPE CORAL, Fla. - Dried-up lawns, poor water pressure, and taking showers with a timer. That's the reality for residents in Northwest Cape Coral as Southwest Florida experiences a significant lack of rainfall this year.

"It makes a heart flutter a little bit," said Eli Downey Sr., a resident in Cape Coral. "Already getting the anxiety going for it."

WINK News first spoke with the Downeys back in November, when they initially started experiencing the impacts.

"Since the construction going on Burnt Store Road and 150,000 acres that are being dried up," said Downey. "The foundation that is under all of that feeds the aquifer that takes care of all the houses in northwest that are not on city water. And since that construction has begun, our water pressure has continuously just been getting worse."

Downey expressed concern about his family's future water supply, as low water pressure continues to affect their home.

"I recently just had purchased 4 gallons of drinking water just to manage where we are right now," he said. "Just so we can basically cook with, but with the dry season coming up, it's definitely scary."

It's not just Cape Coral feeling the effects of the dry conditions. Fort Myers and Punta Gorda are also projected to have one of the driest years on record, according to our WINK News meteorologists.

To prevent homes from running out of water entirely, irrigation restrictions have been put in place in Cape Coral and Punta Gorda for now.

"Really hoping for rain," said Downey. "Because, we're outside the city limits, so I'm not sure how much help we'll get if we do run out of water."

Residents along Northwest 7th Avenue also told WINK News reporter Camila Pereira off-camera that they share Downey's sentiment, hoping for some much-needed rain to alleviate their water woes.