‘Staggering’ Amount of Fecal Bacteria Found in Billy’s Creek in Fort Myers

“What’s in the water? That’s the question members of Calusa Waterkeeper set out to answer Wednesday morning while tracing fecal bacteria from Billy’s Creek in Fort Myers.

John Cassani with Calusa Waterkeeper said the amount of fecal bacteria located in the creek is staggering.

“The contamination is extraordinarily high, it’s terrible. It’s been this way for almost two decades,” said Cassani.

Records of the fecal bacteria have been kept by Lee County since 2001. Calusa Waterkeeper began taking an interest to restore the creek and protect the public’s health.

“The monthly average of over 20 years is approaching 1000 at one station,” said Cassani. “The public health threshold is 70, seven-zero. So this is more than an order of magnitude higher than the public health threshold.”

Members of the group visited the creek early Wednesday morning to collect 15 samples that were later sent to Miami for testing.