‘Levels this high usually indicate sewage.’ Estero neighborhood grabbles with water problem

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on July 25, 2024

The Estero River is a designated Outstanding Florida Waterway with the highest levels of state protections. The News-Press reached out to DEP with several questions about the situation but has not heard back from the agency.

Maier showed results from an examination of the waters there to Florida Gulf Coast University water professor James Douglass and others.

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“Given the significant health risks associated with exposure to wastewater and the years between now and when the Cypress Bend plant is scheduled for decommissioning, I think it’s sensible to seek a more immediate redress of the chronic wastewater contamination of surface waters occurring at the Cascades community in Estero,” Douglass wrote in an email to Maier. “This definitely seems like a situation where you should seek expert advice, and possibly seek legal recourse.”