The South Florida Water Management District estimates Cape Coral residents should use about 16,000 gallons per month, but the usage is closer to 20,000 gallons.

With demand expected to triple between now and 2020, Utilities manager George Reilly believes long-term conservation and metering are needed to provide enough irrigation water for the city’s growing population,.

Those who use more than the basic amount of water covered by the monthly $9.50 for the city’s irrigation service will be charged for an extra they use. Calls to Reilly regarding how water metering will affect private grounds and facilities were not returned at the time of publication.

The city limits residential watering to two days per week to stretch the supply, but many do not comply. Illegal watering consumed an estimated 350 million gallons since late September, Reilly said. Enforcemnet efforts have helped. The city issued nearly 3,000 citations since Oct. 1, he said.

End users have to be educated about this, Councilman Mickey Rosado said.

?EUR??,,????'??The reality is we can?EUR??,,????'???t use all we want,?EUR??,,????'?? Mayor Eric Feichthaler said. ?EUR??,,????'??I think metering is a great idea.?EUR??,,????'??

Meters cost about $300 and he doesn?EUR??,,????'???t want to make residents pay for them.

Funding is being sought to cover the cost, Reilly said.