Naples finds stormwater level‑of‑service shortfall; staff outlines basin‑by‑basin urgent fixes

Naples City Council accepted the 2025 Level of Service (LOS) report on first reading March 18 and scheduled a second reading for April 1 to consider mitigation strategies. The annual report evaluates city infrastructure — potable water, wastewater, solid waste, drainage/stormwater, transportation, parks and public‑school capacity — against previously adopted standards.

City utilities staff reported potable water and wastewater currently meet the city’s LOS standards, but the drainage/stormwater LOS is deficient. “Our current LOS for the stormwater utility … is insufficient and needs to be updated,” staff said, describing multiple basins with recurring ‘hot spots’ of nuisance and localized flooding.

Staff outlined a priority approach that focuses on basin‑by‑basin fixes rather than single large projects: deploy mobile pumping units to hot spots before hurricane season, design and place targeted wet‑well (underground) pump stations, automate key discharge structures, spot‑repair gravity conveyance, and sequence longer‑term basin rehabilitation through the capital improvement program (CIP). The city said it would pilot at least five mobile pump units and continue design work for the two master pump stations that will increase Gulf and river discharge capacity.

Public works director Dr. George framed the approach as urgency balanced with cost: instead of one $40–$60 million investment in a single basin, the city will pursue a series of prioritized, smaller projects, pairing short‑term mobile mitigation with medium‑term construction and funding strategies. Staff also emphasized the need to update code and utility fee structures to support an enterprise fund model for stormwater.

Council members voiced support for the hotspot strategy and asked for detailed mitigation cost estimates at second reading. The city stressed that any development proposals that would worsen concurrency must meet LOS requirements.

Next steps: staff to return April 1 with mitigation projects, estimated costs and recommended funding mechanisms for council consideration at second reading.