Ordered by Florida to clean up its act, Fort Myers works to fix its water pollution problem

With swelling demand straining its antique wastewater infrastructure, it’s no wonder Fort Myers has water pollution problems.

Fecal bacteria in its creeks, fountains "of raw sewage”, dirty construction runoff and dangerous spills have plagued the city for years.

It can be a big problem. Beyond the ick factor, the bacteria “can be an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage," according to the state health department. "If they are present in high concentrations in recreational waters and are ingested while swimming or enter the skin through a cut or sore, they may cause human disease, infections or rashes.”

After a series of high- and low-profile troubles ranging from what was likely the biggest sewage spill in Fort Myers history, the chronic problems got the city in trouble with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection. The agency said the city had "not addressed (flows) of untreated human waste, which poses a risk to human health." In 2021, the two negotiated a consent agreement requiring $768,000 in fixes instead of a $500,000 fine.

Since then, the city says it has worked hard to upgrade pollution control measures, though not as effectively as the nonprofit Calusa Waterkeeper would like to see.

As a case in point, the prominent environmental nonprofit cites Manuel's Branch, a creek named for city father Manuel Gonzalez that winds through many high-end backyards as it makes its way to the Caloosahatchee.

Despite the city's attention to the waterway, there's been "no real change or improvement" in fecal bacteria levels, Waterkeeper Codty Pierce says. That it's been a consistent bacterial hot spot for years is troubling, says Waterkeeper board secretary Jason Pim.

"The existence of these indicator bacteria tells us there's a high chance of there being a number of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that create a health risk to humans and our pets," Pim said.

Clearing homeless camps, digging wells, replacing pipes

Working to change that perception as well as they way Fort Myers handles pollution is Justin Mahon, the city's environmental compliance manager, whose job is one of many post-consent order improvements, he says. Others include:

• Tying the city's south wastewater treatment system into Cape Coral's reclaimed water plant, which sends treated effluent to the Cape rather than into the Caloosahatchee. "By the end of this month we'll be able to send 12 million gallons per day to the Cape," Mahon said.
• Starting a deep injection well at the central wastewater treatment plant, which will shoot treated effluent "into the boulder zone, which is a double-confined later of the aquifer well below us." The project should be finished in 2025; the city is planning three more wells: two at each plant.

• Replacing sewer mains and old clay pipes with new, longer-lived PVC which "adds resilience to the system," says Mahon, and helps "make sure nothing's leaking,"

• Installing several pet waste disposal stations,

• Requiring a trailer park on Manuel's Branch to upgrade and contain its sewage lift station,
• Getting a grant to help it clear trash from waterways, because debris can become a home for bacteria. Less trash equals lower bacterial counts, Mahon says,
• Creating a public pollution reporting tool,

• Helping people camping along Manuel's Branch in early 2023 (and likely using it as a toilet) find somewhere else to be,
• Creating Mahon's position to center "environmental issues and auditing environmentally sound practices," plus a new utilities engineer, which provides more oversight Mahon says, and a new geographic information system manager to ensure the city knows "where our pipes are really in the ground."

A so-far untapped ally may be Calusa Waterkeeper.

With its experience, volunteers and historical knowledge, the nonprofit stands ready to help, Pim says.

"We want to collaborate with the city to bring the highly concerning levels of bacterial contamination down and when they're not in an acceptable range, we think the city should be posting some appropriate signage on the risks."

Water problems persist; will the state ease up on the order?

Despite what Mahon calls a "great trajectory," difficulties remain.

Recent extreme rains in quick succession "basically overwhelmed the city’s central wastewater plant (so) we had a spill out of the back of the plant." Fortunately, he says, a berm kept the spill out of Billy's Creek.

Since the consent order, population and costs have spiked, making compliance a moving target, Mahon says. In May, the city asked the state to consider pushing the deadline back from 2028 to 2032.

Fort Myers' water pollution problem:State environmental agency promises penalties, protections

"In 2019, our costs were much lower than what we're looking at today by an order of magnitude," which has made securing bonds and state funds much more difficult.

For example, he says, when the city agreed to the consent order, projections were that two injection wells would cost $30 million. "In 2023, the cost estimate we received for just one well was $45 million. So we went from $30 million for two wells to $45 million for just one. That is what we mean by cost-prohibitive and there's no way we could have predicted this would be the case (so) meeting a threshold set five years ago may not be as attainable as we thought it was."

Report pollution to the state, city

To report a known or suspected environmental concern, you can submit a tip to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Citizen Concern Portal: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2298315/SD-Citizen-Concern-Form.

Or report to the city of Fort Myers at: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/?open=web&embed=fullScreen&id=134c01dae23c412b90ab765820a7468a&hide=navbar,footer,theme

That's why the 2032 deadline seems more reasonable, he says "to make sure we have the funding and the ability to complete them in a realistic timeframe."