The Caloosahatchee supplies drinking water for Lee County. How much, or what percent of the County s river comes from the river?
5mgd, enough for 40,000 persons, or about 6% of the County total. Due to water quantity and quality problems, the utilities have been shifting to groundwater sources. During drought situations, there may not be enough (minimum) flow in the River for both the water supply and the environment. In fact a minimum flow level (MFL) rulemaking was undertaken a few years ago. By state law, MFLs are the flow or level of ground or surface water at which further withdrawals of water would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area. They are often specified in agency rules and regulations as numbers representing flows or levels, but can also be the procedure used to calculate a flow or level. Also, Lee County has also attempted to establish a “Water Reservation” for the River to protect the water source for the environment, but this effort has stalled with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). For more information on water reservations for the River, plea
