No Warning Signs at Many SWFL Waterways Containing Fecal Matter

Enter at your own risk – that is one woman’s message tonight as she fears a stretch of the Estero River is polluted with waste and sewage that can make people sick.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection calls the waterway, “verified impaired.” It means the water is polluted with bacteria, usually human or animal waste, above what the state claims are safe.

“I felt so upset about the lack of response from the Dept. of Health to not only post a sign there but on all the impaired rivers that have enterococci, [which is] a high fecal indicator,” Holley Rauen, a ranger at the Calusa Waterkeeper said.