The interior of the new Southwest Pine Island Road Irrigation Tanks and High Service Pump Station on Friday. By CHUCK BALLARO

The city of Cape Coral continues to expand its irrigation water infrastructure to meet demand as the municipality continues to grow at a swift pace.

On Friday, as the city cut the ribbon on its new $11.4 million Southwest Pine Island Road Irrigation Tanks and High Service Pump Station at 610 Commercial Park Place.

City dignitaries were there to see the newest feature, which will open the next chapter to meet the city’s irrigation needs.

Mayor John Gunter spoke, as did Jeff Pearson, utilities director, Tyler Wilburn at Wharton-Smith and Brett Messner of Tetra Tech.

“This is the future of Cape Coral we are looking at. We’re going to increase the capacity for irrigation water in the city,” Gunter said. “This facility here is for the decades to come and we’re very proactive when it comes to our infrastructure projects.”

The new station will allow the city to increase its water storage from 25 million to 35 million gallons and store more reclaimed water once the Caloosahatchee Connect project comes online in 2023.

Each storage tank will hold 5 million gallons of reclaimed water. Booster pump stations will allow the city to distribute irrigation water pressure and capacity more uniformly during periods of increased demand.

The High Service Pump Station building is approximately 4,000 square feet, and the pump room contains six pumps: two each of 100, 150, and 300 horsepower.

Each storage tank is designed to collect rainwater across the surface of the dome and channel it along the structure and into the tank. There is also enough concrete between the dome and floor structures of the irrigation storage tanks to install three miles of sidewalk and 113 miles of cable wire.

The city has done much to keep irrigation water at higher levels and at proper pressure. Along with Caloosahatchee Connect and the water it can get from Punta Gorda, the city also adjusted its watering schedule to allow for better water pressure.

“We want to continue to be more resilient. We can’t change Mother Nature. We can only change what we’re in control of,” Pearson said. “By building this, we can store any additional water and have it ready when our customers sprinklers come on.”

Pearson was perhaps the most excited about the new facility, touting it while also lamenting how climate change has impacted the planet.

“Over the past few years there has never been a point in time when recycling water has become more relevant. Climate change is really affecting our water supply, quality and sustainability,” Pearson said. “This is one of the ways we are working to combat these challenges.”

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