Community Action Plan:
Billy’s Creek, Fort Myers
Executive Summary
The Billy’s Creek Community Action Plan (BC-CAP) serves as a call to action for restoring a local tributary, Billy’s Creek. From its early history to the present day, memories and life experiences intersect and continue to affirm the significant role Billy’s Creek holds in the greater Fort Myers community. Throughout the process of writing the Billy’s Creek Community Action Plan (BC-CAP), oral histories were collected in an effort to understand the place Billy’s Creek holds in the hearts of the people who live here. Shared with us were stories of learning to swim in the once white, sandy-bottom creek; teaching youth about the local environment with school trips to the creek; and, most popularly, fishing alongside family and friends.
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Additional Billy's Creek Resources
- Fort Myers Pollutant Reduction Plan
- Letter to FDEP, Re: Fort Myers FIB Consent Order
- City of Fort Myers & FDEP Consent Order
- John Cassani Addresses Inaccuracies in Billy's Creek Workshop
- The History of Billy's Creek and City of Fort Myers' Maintenance, Evaluation & Financial Investment
- PR: Fort Myers City Council to Discuss Bacterial Contamination of Billy’s Creek
- Consent Order by FDEP against City of Fort Myers for Releasing Effluent into Billy's Creek
- Billy's Creek Bacteria Results since Hurricane Irma
- Billy's Creek One-page Issues Paper
- Billy's Creek Contamination Letter to City of Fort Myers Mayor and Lee County BOCC
Billy’s Creek Oral History Project
Our stories are what connect us to each other and our environment. Therefore, Calusa Waterkeeper is collecting oral histories from community members to amplify the historical, cultural, and recreational significance that Billy’s Creek has had in our lives.
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Related News Stories
Fecal Bacteria
Calusa Waterkeeper to highlight ongoing severe fecal bacteria presence at Manuel’s Branch creek
Calusa Waterkeeper sampled water in Manuel’s Branch last month and found the level of Enterococcus measured 21 times higher than the Florida Department of Health’s safety level and 44 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s limit.
Calusa Waterkeeper To Host Manuel’s Branch Neighborhood Water Quality & Human Health Event
In an effort to keep children and families informed of troubled waters in Manuel’s Branch and other local waterbodies, Calusa Waterkeeper is hosting a Water Quality & Human Health Public Meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.
Fecal bacteria continues to be found in extremely high levels in Lee County waters
Every month the Calusa Waterkeeper tests our water for fecal indicator bacteria. And just this past month alone, 26 of 31 samples came back as poor to extremely poor. Similar results have been found each consecutive month for more than a year.
What’s the state of our water? Answers come from stakeholders at chamber event
Once a taken-for-granted bankable asset, Southwest Florida’s degraded water quality is now a critical, contentious topic. A recent Chamber of Southwest Florida event was a case in point. Five stakeholders from very different sectors gathered Wednesday to offer insights on challenges and solutions to a crowd of more than 100. Perspectives differed.
Cypress Bend community appears to be leaking sewage to Estero River
A small south Lee County neighborhood is polluting an adjacent property and, eventually, the Estero River with untreated wastewater.
Fort Myers asks state to extend deadline for water pollution fixes
Despite the city’s attention to the waterway, there’s been “no real change or improvement” in fecal bacteria levels, Waterkeeper Codty Pierce says.
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Priority Issues
Harmful Algal Blooms
Cyanobacteria & Red Tide
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and Karenia brevis (red tide) have been making major impacts on Southwest Florida.
Lake Okeechobee Discharges
Revise System Operating Manual
The Caloosahatchee River often suffers from too much freshwater in the wet season, and not enough freshwater in the dry season.
Cape Coral Spreader Canals
Nutrient & Sediment Loading
The City of Cape Coral is working to remove large storm-water barriers to make recreational boating more convenient.
Bacteria Monitoring
Fecal Bacteria
Calusa Waterkeeper has been at the forefront of monitoring this Fort Myers tributary for fecal bacteria indicators.