Agenda Item:
Prepared By: Jeffrey E. Poteet
Business: Presentation
Department: Water and Sewer
Subject:
Title
Presentation - Meeting Marco Island's Future Water Demands - Jeffrey E. Poteet, General Manager, Water & Sewer Department
Body
BACKGROUND:
In September 2025, the Water and Sewer Department presented the City's 2024 Water Capacity Analysis Report (CAR) to City Council. The CAR evaluated the ability of the City's potable water system to meet existing and projected demands through 2040. The analysis identified adequate storage and distribution capacity but highlighted constraints associated with water treatment capacity, source-water availability, increasing potable water demands, and the need for future improvements at both the North Water Treatment Plant (NWTP) and South Water Treatment Plant (SWTP).
The City's potable water system is supplied by two treatment facilities. The NWTP utilizes surface water from Marco Lakes (located approximately 9-miles north of Marco Island), supplemented by Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), and is currently permitted to produce 6.67 million gallons per day (MGD). The SWTP utilizes brackish groundwater from the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer and is permitted to produce 6.0 MGD, providing a combined permitted treatment capacity of 12.67 MGD.
However, permitted treatment capacity does not represent the amount of water the City can reliably produce on an annual basis. While the SWTP has 6.0 MGD of permitted treatment capacity, its current water use permit limits annual average production to approximately 2.7 MGD. Combined with the NWTP's current permitted capacity, available source water limits annual average production to approximately 9.4 MGD. Increasing the NWTP's treatment capacity and obtaining additional water allocations for the SWTP are therefore important components of the City's long-term water supply strategy.
Potable water demand has continued to increase. Between 2015 and 2025, average daily demand increased fr...
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