Easter ham not your jam? Good alternatives to traditional holiday dining in Naples

Billy's Creek dredging approved, impact on pollution unclear

Bill Smith
The News-Press
A tricolored heron wades in Billy's Creek on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

Five years after first looking  for it, the city of Fort Myers has a $775,000 grant in place to dredge Billy's Creek.

Combined with city funding, it means $1 million so that Fort Myers can get started on the removal of decades of sediment that has settled in the canal, making it more difficult for the creek to handle stormwater during times of flooding emergencies. 

More:Time to get funding and clean Billy's Creek

More:Historic Fort Myers Billy's Creek has been 'frighteningly' polluted for at least 15 years

Fort Myers has been looking for the funding for several years, but buoyed by growing attention to water issues, and especially to an abundance of nutrients in the water that feed harmful algae blooms, the funding was included in the state budget.

State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto and state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, both Fort Myers Republicans, pressed for inclusion of the grant funding in the state budget passed by the Legislature earlier this year. 

In 2011, a city-commissioned study concluded that sediment in the creek had limited the ability of the creek to carry stormwater.

In its grant application, the city stressed the need to protect buildings along the creek by reducing the peak flood stages along its route.  Enhancement of wildlife viewing opportunities is also cited as a benefit from the dredging.

City officials noted complaints over the years about flooding, the eroding banks of the creek and flooding of homes that followed heavy August rains and Hurricane Irma within three weeks late in the summer of 2017.

Under the terms of the grant, Fort Myers and its contractor will be responsible for dredging 11,800 cubic yards of sediment from the water.  Invasive plants will also be removed.

Billy Creek, an approximately 5-mile canal will get attention to remove tons of  sediment that has settled to the creek's bottom, impeding its ability to handle storm water runoff and prevent flooding.

Billy Creek Preserve is a 50-acre parcel that was added to the Lee County 20/20 program beginning a decade ago. In following years, the site improved to become a natural filter to clean water, in a project funded by the city and the South Florida Water Management District.

A county spokesman said the dredging work would not have an impact on preserve.

It is unclear whether the dredging will reduce the presence of fecal bacteria in the creek. Testing has shown the bacteria readings higher than limits set by the state.

"We are seeing contamination in the headwaters around Ortiz (Boulevard) and all the way down to Seaboard (Street) , essentially the length of the creek,” said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani.

Design for the project has been completed. With the Monday night approval of the project by the City Council, the contractor can be hired to dig debris and muck from the river and dispose of it.

Stormwater fee collections will fund the city's contribution to the cost of the project.