Originally published on Fox 4 by Andrew Shipley on November 21, 2025
A two-year investigation by local environmental group Calusa Waterkeeper has found evidence of human-source fecal contamination in Manuel’s Branch, a small urban creek located just south of Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.
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Manuel’s Branch has repeatedly shown extremely high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria, which signal contamination and potential health risks.
“When you see bacteria notification at a public beach, that number is 70,” said Jason Pim, a board member with Calusa Waterkeeper. “Here we get numbers all the time that are in the 2,000 to 4,000 range, and as high as 10,000.”
According to the organization, those levels make the creek unsafe for swimming, fishing, or any direct contact.
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Because the source of the contamination remains unknown, Calusa Waterkeeper is urging the City of Fort Myers to take a larger role in ongoing testing.
Currently, Pim said, the city samples the creek at one location once per quarter. He argues that more frequent and widespread sampling is needed to narrow down any potential point sources.
“We think it needs to be done with a better plan, in more spots and more frequently,” Pim said.
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Pim added that solving the issues in Manuel’s Branch could help inform water quality strategies in other impaired waterways across the state.
“If we can find better tools to fix the problem here, we can use those tools to fix problems in waterbodies all across Southwest Florida and Florida at large,” he said. “It’s a problem becoming more and more prevalent as we grow and become more urbanized.”
Original Story