Originally published on Fox 4 by Miyoshi Price on December 2, 2025
Calusa Waterkeeper is calling on the city of Fort Myers to take immediate action after their independent testing revealed persistent human fecal contamination in Manuel’s Branch, a popular recreational waterway that flows through downtown Fort Myers.
The environmental nonprofit presented alarming findings to the city’s Environmental Advisory Board, showing that Manuel’s Branch exceeds state water quality standards for fecal bacteria 90% to 100% of the time, often by orders of magnitude.
Testing reveals human waste sources
The Calusa Waterkeepers conducted extensive testing throughout 2023 and 2024, using protocols approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Their human source tracing confirmed the presence of human waste in the waterway, though they were unable to conclusively identify specific point sources.
The group’s findings contrast with the city’s testing results. While the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a consent order against Fort Myers in 2020 requiring pollution reduction efforts, the organization said the city reportedly stopped regular human source testing after receiving two non-detects in summer 2024.
“In the same time frame, our independent sampling, and also a sample that DEP took did have a detect for human sources in that same time frame,” Pim said.
Original Story