Water district stays with alum, sand treatment for Caloosahatchee reservoir, or C-43

Originally published by The News-Press on September 13, 2021 by Chad Gillis

“I think the train has left the station on this project,” said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani, who was listening in on the Zoom meeting. “The reservoir has become an expensive alternative to the state’s existing tools for improving water quality.” 

Cassani and others wanted the state to build a series of wetlands or find a more natural way to help water quality in the reservoir. 

For years there has been a concern that algae could grow in the reservoir, which would make it unfit to release back into the Caloosahatchee River. 

The water quality component mentioned in the DeSantis order doesn’t specify how the action should be achieved. 

Cassani said the river needs the reservoir to perform well during dry times. 

“If it’s a drought season and we’re not getting any basin runoff and reduced flow from the basin, and if we’re not getting water from the lake, it’s going to have to come from the reservoir,” Cassani said.