Well permits at risk as water levels continue drop in Mid Hawthorn Aquifer

If the levels of the Mid Hawthorn Aquifer continue to drop, the city of Cape Coral may have to stop issuing new permits for any wells – potable or irrigation – within the water shortage area.
City Manager Mike Ilczyszyn said at a budget workshop last Thursday thqt the city has been working on a series of solutions with the South Florida Water Management District to avoid further degradation in the water supply for residents on private wells.
“Our utilities director presented an action plan with Lee County and the District. The three entities have a stake in this issue. Some of the properties with water shortage are in unincorporated Lee County,” he said.
Utilities Director Jeff Pearson said over the past several months the city has been working with the county and the South Florida Water Management District to come up with a joint action plan to protect the Mid Hawthorn Aquifer — the source of drinking water for many north Cape residents not on city utilities — from permanent damage.
So far, the measures have included a modified phase three water shortage restriction, which was issued on Nov. 28, 2023 to limit landscape irrigation to one day a week in northeast Cape Coral for properties on private wells. To monitor the compliance, the city hired code enforcement officers.
In addition, the city reprioritized the expansion of its Utilities Expansion Program to complete North 6 by 2030, as well as accelerated construction on the North Water Reclamation Facility, also anticipated to be completed in 2030.
Pearson said the city also approved the purchase of the Southwest Aggregates Mine, which is in Charlotte County, to develop that into a reservoir.
The city has sent information to Lee County, which manages the city’s permitting for private wells for residential homes. Pearson said that resulted in directing residents to drill wells down into a deeper aquifer zone with an approximate depth of 250 feet.
“Hopefully, that will help mitigate the situation,” he said.
Another immediate action is adopting an ordinance that requires mandatory connection to the city’s irrigation water supply system once it becomes available. Where the city’s irrigation system is available, there also is mandatory connection to the water supply system when a self-supply well fails in areas located north of Pine Island Road.
“We have a draft ordinance that will be coming to council soon to require mandatory connection to supply section in each new UEP area. It effectively requires each of the customers, once reclaimed water (is available) to switch over to the city system and not use private wells for outdoor irrigation,” Pearson said.
If levels go lower, the first future action plan, part one, could lead to zero irrigation days.
Pearson said some of the “off ramps” for this, is that should the water levels continue to decline less than 10 feet above the minimum flow level, which is set at 93 feet below land surface for two weeks, that construction of new wells will be limited, as well as prohibiting the use the wells for outdoor irrigation.
“God forbid should water levels decline for two consecutive weeks – cease issuing new permits for any wells, potable or irrigation,” Pearson said.
There would also be zero irrigation days for the future actions part two.
Councilmember Bill Steinke said the city has to direct financial and personnel resources towards solving the problem.
“The future actions of eliminating construction, or water usage, that’s a no option,” he said.
Pearson said he does not think there is a 100% guarantee this will fix the problem, but it will certainly mitigate the situation. He said all the city can do is everything within its power to help mitigate the decline.
There are two courses “do nothing, or do everything you possibly can to prevent it. Right now, what we laid out here is the best course of action to prevent further harm to the aquifer and continue growing our city,” Pearson said. “The key going into the future is conservation and getting that message out.”
Pearson said once they get the UEP North 1 project done and everyone connected – they have six months to connect – the city will begin seeing the aquifer recover, and recover rapidly.
The workshop presentation began with Southwest Florida Water Management District Water Supply Bureau Chief Mark Elsner sharing that an aquifer, which are underground water sources, have a geology and characteristics – such as water-producing zones and confining units.
“Well drilling is the primary method – identify sources of drinking water, and not drinking water, production capacity and where and where it does not exist,” he said.
The Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer is the only source the private-well residents have for drinking and irrigation water in the Cape and parts of north county.
The Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer has a Mid-Hawthorn confining unit, the Mid-Hathorn Aquifer, and the Lower Hawthorn Confining Unit.
Elsner said that the Mid Hathorne Confining Unit seals off everything below it, so when it rains it does not recharge the aquifer.
“The recharge is further north in DeSoto County. When it rains in Cape Coral, because of the rock formation, that prevents the water from seeping down. It’s recharged in DeSoto County,” Elsner said.
The aquifer consists of rock and water and the pore space is what makes up the aquifer and provides structural stability.
There are minimum flow and minimum water levels for the aquifer to protect it.
Elsner also explained why wells go dry. A well is drilled down 140 to 150 feet and a pump is placed inside to pump that water up from the aquifer.
“That home was built. The water level was up here. They set the pump 20 to 30 feet below the water level to the water supply,” Elsner said. “The water has declined, and it gets below the pump.”
When the pump is trying to pump water, it becomes hot and fuses together with the PVC, which blocks the well and stops it from pumping.
“The only solution is to replace the well. If that pump is set deeper, it can still pump water. Almost all cases, the pump is above the water,” Elsner said, adding that the new well will have to be drilled deeper.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District has a network of hundreds of monitoring wells to look at the water levels, as well as water quality samples for the continuous evaluation of data and trends.
One of those wells, L-4820 is located at the southeast corner of Andalusia Boulevard and Diplomat Parkway. It was constructed in 1980 with a total depth of 180 feet. In January 2000, the water level continued to decline over a period of time in a “sawtooth nature,” he said. The line goes up when the water increases and goes down when decreasing, which corresponds with the dry and wet season.
“The west season demands go down, you don’t have to irrigate. In dry season, November through May, there is an increased demand because population is increasing and the demand for irrigation,” Elsner said. “March, April, and May is hotter, dryer, so there is a demand for more water.”
The early 2000s, between 2006-2008, the area experienced its worst drought, which initiated phase three water shortage restrictions.
“Each year it didn’t come up as much as the year before. Starting in 2022-2023 we lost the sawtooth. That wasn’t foreseen. We think, maybe, the overall demand has taken over what is coming in as recharge,” he said. “What’s causing this – the major reason is growth.”
The increases anticipated were not seen in the summer of 2023, nor 2024. At the end of 2023 wet season, L-4820 was approaching a record low.
“We were about, maybe, 13 feet above MFL and 7 feet below MDL,” Elsner said, which initiated the restrictions that limited irrigation to one day a week in the hopes it would reduce the demand and allow the aquifer levels to level out.