Caloosahatchee Connect partnership brings hope during drought

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Despite severe drought conditions, Cape Coral leaders said the city is finding relief through an innovative water partnership. Plus, the City's Utilities Director said the aquifer in north Cape Coral is already seeing relief from the city water project.

Fox 4's Bella Line spoke with Jeff Pearson, Utilities Director for the City of Cape Coral, about the project:

Pearson said the Caloosahatchee Connect Project pumps eight million gallons of water from Fort Myers to Cape Coral every day, providing a crucial lifeline during challenging water conditions. He said the project has been a game changer for the past two years.

"Every day that we're using reclaimed water, rather than drinking water for outdoor landscaping and other irrigation uses, helps to save our customers money, because drinking water is much more expensive," Pearson said.

He said people living in Cape Coral use about 30 to 40 million gallons of reclaimed water every day, making the Caloosahatchee Connect Project essential for meeting demand.

Plus, in north Cape Coral where people are gradually switching to city water, he said it's helping ease the stress on the aquifer system there. Click here for more information on the Utilities Extension Project (UEP).

"We're less than one foot below the Maximum Developable Limit [MDL], which is basically the top of the aquifer, and we want to be above that in the safe zone," Pearson said.

Take a look at the chart the City gave Fox 4 to show how much the level has risen since April 2025:

City of Cape Coral

Pearson believes the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer could fully recover within two to three years if current trends continue.

Water restrictions will remain in place for now, but Pearson expects the water management district to reevaluate those rules in about a year.

"We're going to see a continued improvement in the Mid-Hawthorne Aquifer in the northeast part of the city," Pearson said.

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