Waterkeeper: fecal coliform counts high in many protected rivers, creeks in Lee

Some tributaries flowing into the Caloosahatchee River and Estero Bay are polluted with fecal coliform bacteria, with counts going well above criteria used to determine whether or not a beach is safe for swimming.

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County monitors several beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, but the agency doesn't monitor boat ramps, kayak launches and some freshwater swimming beaches. Recent measurements from DOH show most beaches with counts below 70 on the Most Probable Number, or MPN scale. The World Health Organization considers a count of 11–100 MPN per 100 ml as medium risk.

Measurements taken by the Calusa Waterkeeper show those numbers jumping to higher than 1,600 at the Imperial River kayak launch along Old U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs.

"The levels are very high," said John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper Emeritus. "The beach action value that the DOH uses is 70 MPN, so that’s sort of the threshold for issuing beach advisories for contaminated water. So that’s a reference."

More than 900 MPN was measured late last month at the Koreshan State Historic Site on the Estero River, according to Calusa Waterkeeper records.

Nearly all the tributaries flowing into Estero Bay showed high counts of fecal coliform bacteria, which can cause anything from an upset stomach to infections in pre-existing cuts or wounds.

Those rivers are also afforded the highest level of protection by the state, a situation that makes people like Cassani and others wonder why they were allowed to be polluted in the first place.

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Higher fecal coliform counts typically show up this time of year in many protected rivers and creeks, but this year the counts are particularly high, Cassani said.

High numbers are also being reported in Pine Island Sound and at typical dry-season hot spots like Billy's Creek and the Orange River, both of which flow into the Caloosahatchee.

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James Douglass is a professor and researcher at Florida Gulf Coast University, and he said the region suffers from several water quality issues that can trigger things like fecal coliform contamination.

"It’s become sort of the norm for Southwest Florida , but it’s just not something we should take so cavalierly," Douglass said. "The answer is a little different for every river and for some of the rivers, like Billy’s Creek, the wastewater treatment in the area needs a lot of upgrades and in other areas it’s probably septic tanks."

Douglass said the next logical step for the state agencies responsible for water quality and public health is to find the sources and fix the problems.

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"But there’s a go-to excuse that levels are high but that it could be from bat turds," he said. "But they don’t want to take the next step and track down the source and do something about it. People do the monitoring, but no one’s held accountable."

Cassani said he doesn't see the situation improving anytime soon.

"We’ve seen extremely high levels of fecal bacteria based on historical data going back 20 years, so it’s an ongoing problem," Cassani said.

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