Originally published on Fox 4 by Andrew Shipley on April 23, 2025
Have you ever wondered what is in our waterways? And I am not talking about plants or animals, but instead bacteria.
Fox 4 Meteorologist Andrew Shipley joined Calusa Waterkeeper who has been testing our waterways for Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) for years.
One of the places that Calusa Waterkeeper says they are seeing the highest amounts of FIB, is at Manuel’s Branch in Fort Myers.
“Last month’s FIB number for MB3 (Manuel Branch test site 3), which is the west end of this location, of this trailer park, were the highest ever for Manuel’s Branch,” said Don Lees, Calusa Waterkeeper Ranger. “I believe they were the highest for anything in city including Billy’s Creek.”
Manuel’s Branch, the waterway Don Lees is describing, runs along Canal Street in Fort Myers, goes under US-41 south of Lee Memorial and Fort Myers High School where it meets the Caloosahatchee.
“Both Manuel’s Branch and Billy’s Creek have long been known to be impaired for Fecal Indicator Bacteria,” said Jason Pim, Calusa Waterkeeper Advocacy Chair. “And they are natural water bodies that have urban grown all around it now.”
Original Story