FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Patty DiPiero, Lee County Utilities
              (239) 479-8534

Lee County Utilities Awarded the Outstanding Web Site Award from Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 8, 2003) - Lee County Utilities has been awarded the Outstanding Web Site Award from the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA). The award was based on such criteria of content, ease of use, and overall aesthetic look.

Lee County Utilities' web site is www.lee-county.com/utilities/.

The site includes detailed information about the county's water and wastewater system, billing and payment information, rates and fees, boil water notices and the department's monthly newsletter.

The FWPCOA is an organization of members that are involved in the production, treatment and the distribution of drinking water or the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater. The FWPCOA works in cooperation with the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association, The Florida Water Environment Association, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Education System.

The county's Utilities Division serves 66,877 water and 42,975 sewer customers in portions of North, East and South Lee County. The county operates eight wastewater-treatment plants - Fort Myers Beach, Fiesta Village, Waterway Estates, Highpoint, Pine Island, San Carlos, Three Oaks, and Gateway - with a total of 24.8-million gallons of capacity per day, and seven drinking water-treatment plants - College Parkway, Corkscrew, Green Meadows, Olga, Waterway Estates, Bartow, and Pinewoods - with a combined 30.6-million gallons of capacity per day. The Utilities Division has an annual operating budget of about $30.3 million.