Lee County Utilities water quality
Fort Myers, FL · serves 282,556 people (95,339 connections) · Surface water · Local government · EPA ID FL5364048
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Buys water from Bonita Springs Utilities, City of Cape Coral, City of Fort Myers Water Treatment Plant. Treated water bought from another system can carry that system's contaminants.
Summary
No federal limits exceeded in EPA data.
- PFAS
- Detected, below limit7 of 29 PFAS found at least once. All averages below the federal limits.
- Lead
- Below action level1.1 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Dec 2023. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- Resolved1 health-based violation since 2016, most recently Sep 2021. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Sep 2021. What to do if you get a notice.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Got a boil-water or do-not-drink notice? What each notice means and what to do.
- Want to reduce what was found? Filters for these results.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read Lee County Utilities's 2026 water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report, from the utility). It lists every regulated contaminant tested, including ones not on this page. Questions: (239) 533-8181.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 5 entry points tested Jan 2023 to Oct 2023. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA One sample above limit Limit 4 ppt | 1.05 ppt 26% of the limit |
| PFOS One sample above limit Limit 4 ppt | 2.95 ppt 74% of the limit |
| PFHxS Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Detected, below limit Limit 1 | 0.0022 |
| PFBS Detected, below limit Guideline 2,000 ppt | 4.5 ppt |
| PFBA Detected, below limit Guideline 6,000 ppt | 11.7 ppt |
| PFHxA Detected, below limit Guideline 3,000 ppt | 3.6 ppt |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 5.7 ppt |
| PFHpA Detected, no limit | 2.27 ppt |
29 PFAS tested, 7 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Not detected in 12 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 1.1 ppb lead (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 2 ppb (Dec 2019).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 1.1 ppb |
| Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 | 1.4 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 1.1 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jan 2019 – Dec 2019 | 2 ppb |
| Jul 2018 – Dec 2018 | 1.7 ppb |
| Jan 2018 – Jun 2018 | 1.2 ppb |
| Jan 2016 – Dec 2016 | 1.4 ppb |
| Jan 2013 – Dec 2013 | 1 ppb |
| Jan 2010 – Dec 2010 | 1.3 ppb |
| Jan 2007 – Dec 2007 | 4 ppb |
| Jul 2006 – Dec 2006 | 1 ppb |
| Jan 2004 – Dec 2004 | 0 ppb |
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | E. coli was confirmed in the water. E. coli means the water may have been contaminated with sewage or animal waste. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Revised Total Coliform Rule · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, E. coli (RTCR) Resolved |
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 5.31 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.28 ppb | – |
| Chlorate | 2,160 ppb | 210 ppb |
| Strontium | 1.94 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Molybdenum | 26 ppb | 40 ppb |
| Vanadium | 3.6 ppb | 21 ppb |
Where it serves
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 33901, 33903, 33905, 33907, 33908, 33912, 33913, 33916, 33917, 33919, 33920, 33928, 33931, 33965, 33966, 33967
Nearby utilities
- City of Fort Myers Water Treatment Plant Fort Myers · same area
- City of Cape Coral Cape Coral · 10 mi
- Florida Governmental Utility Authority Lehigh Acres · 12 mi · PFAS above limit
- Bonita Springs Utilities Bonita Springs · 19 mi
- Immokalee Water Immokalee · 29 mi · PFAS above limit
- Charlotte County Utilities Port Charlotte · 31 mi
Questions
Is Lee County Utilities water safe to drink?
Lee County Utilities had 1 health-based violation since 2016, all since resolved. EPA testing found no PFAS above the federal limits. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Lee County Utilities water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of Lee County Utilities found 7 PFAS at least once. None of the averages were above the federal limits.
What is the lead level in Lee County Utilities water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for Lee County Utilities is 1.1 ppb, for the period ending Dec 2023. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for FL5364048: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID FL5364048).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- Lee County Utilities's 2026 water quality report: the utility's own annual report, including contaminants EPA's national database doesn't carry (link checked Nov 14, 2026). Phone: (239) 533-8181.
- Lee County Utilities website
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.