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Lee County's Watershed History
The natural surface hydrology of Southwest Florida has resulted from the interaction of the region's subtropical climate with its topography and geology. Lee County's watershed was once part of the huge Everglades ecosystem in which slowly moving sheet flows of water drained to the Gulf of Mexico. Under natural conditions, water flow in the basin 
generally moved south to southwestward from the Immokalee Rise, providing fresh water to the estuaries along the southwest coast. Lee County currently drains into two major basins; the Caloosahatchee River Basin and the Estero Bay Basin. As canals and levees were built to control flooding and drain large areas for agricultural and residential use, hydrologic connections among different parts of the Everglades ecosystem were severed. Today, the natural freshwater sheet-flow patterns have been significantly altered, resulting in drought conditions and major fire hazards during the dry season and excessive stormwater runoff during the wet season. Consequently, salinity patterns have changed, nutrient loadings have increased, and the numbers of seagrasses, fisheries, and shellfish have been reduced.
Lee County's Current Basins
The Caloosahatchee River Valley which rises less than 15 feet in elevation through Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties follows the river from Lake Okeechobee to San Carlos Bay. Historically, the Caloosahatchee River originated as overland flow from Lake Okeechobee through marshlands and swamp forest (CHNEP, 2000a). The modern Caloosahatchee River (C-43) is a channelized flood control and navigational waterway, maintained by the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACOE) as part of the Okeechobee Waterway, which links the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Okeechobee and the Lucie Canal and River. Three lock and spillway structures control the river from Lake Okeechobee to San Carlos Bay. The Moore Haven Lock and Spillway (S-77), on the western shore of Lake Okeechobee, regulates lake waters and lowers the water from Lake Okeechobee down to 11 feet NGVD (National Geodetic Vertical Datum). The Ortona Lock and Spillway (S-78) helps to control water levels on adjacent lands upstream, lowers the water downstream to 3 feet NGVD, and separates the C-43 into eastern and western basins. The Franklin Lock and Dam, near Olga in Lee County, artificially separates the fresh water of the Caloosahatchee River from the salt water of the estuary. It lowers the water level to 1 foot NGVD, regulates freshwater discharge into the estuary, and acts as an impediment to saltwater intrusion upriver. It also marks the beginning of the 30-mile tidal basin of the Caloosahatchee River, which starts at the lock and continues to the Gulf of Mexico (Capece et al., 1997; SFWMD, 2000a).
Estero Bay is a shallow, subtropical lagoon (11,317 acres) separated from the Gulf by barrier islands. Seagrass beds 
are common in the bay, but high turbidity restricts seagrasses to shallow depths. The Estero and Imperial Rivers and Spring, Mullock, and Hendry Creeks, although small, are the major tributaries in this area. The Estero Bay Basin was, and in many areas still is, typical of low, flat, southern Florida lands dominated by wetlands and characterized by slow, sheet-flow drainage patterns. In the past, the naturally dispersed water patterns distributed nutrients over broad areas of wetland vegetation. Seasonal fluctuations in flow from rainfall created the necessary salinity regime in Estero Bay for good estuarine productivity. Increasing development in the 1960s led to changes in the natural river systems around Estero Bay, altering freshwater inflow patterns.
This information provided courtesy of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District. For more information about the physiographic and geographic history and current conditions of Lee County's watersheds, please visit the FDEP Bureau of Water Resource Management website to access FDEP's Basin Status Reports.
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Current Water Quality Issues
Lee County has experienced a general decline in the quality of its surface water over the last several decades due to
development, agriculture and other human activities. Natural phenomena such as hurricanes further exacerbate this decline in water quality by increasing stormwater pollution loading to local water bodies. This results in harmful algal blooms, negative impacts to human and wildlife health and our economy and has limited the use of our water resources. This can be attributed to the fact that our local waters have surpassed their natural capacity to assimilate nutrients. Lee County's watersheds are verified impaired for nutrients by FDEP and are scheduled for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development starting in 2008-2009.
The major pollutant of concern in Lee County is nutrients. There are many sources of nutrients entering our watershed; atmospheric deposition, deposition from plants and wildlife, development, automobile exhaust, septic tanks, fertilizer (both residential and agricultural) and domesticated animal waste. Nutrients are naturally occurring in our watershed, however excessive nutrients added to the landscape and water through human activity is pollution. The solution to pollution is prevention through conservation and proper maintenance practices! Click here to access Lee County's water quality data.
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Human Impacts and Solutions
Development can create nutrient pollution by replacing wetlands and upland forests with homes and common areas 
that simply generate more pollution overall through human alteration and use than was previously on the land surface.
Solution: There are various pollution prevention practices that we can use to decrease household and common area pollution impacts starting with the very construction of buildings and green spaces. Some pollution prevention practices overlap into other issues discussed below. Learn more about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) certified construction practices, Low Impact Development (L.I.D.) practices and green space practices that you can even do at home!
Automobiles create various by-products when they burn fuel. Aside from carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, 
automobiles produce nitrogen oxides that are volatilized into the air and deposited on land and in the water through rainfall.
Solution: Florida is a wonderful place to walk or ride a bike a bicycle year-round! Walking or bicycling where ever possible helps cut emissions significantly. Mass transit is another way to cut your daily emissions by cutting the number of people on the road. Another benefit is that you do not have to worry about hectic rush-hour traffic. For more information on Lee County's public transportation schedule please visit LeeTran.
Septic tanks are a very commonly utilized method of onsite treatment and disposal of waste water in Lee County and 
throughout Florida. Septic tanks work well if they are installed and maintained properly. An important issue addressed by current design criteria for septic tanks in Florida is allowing adequate percolation into the ground and keeping the tank and drain field separate from the ground water table. Systems older than 1995 often do not meet the current design criteria and do not have adequate separation from the groundwater flows. This can cause surface water pollution because of the porous nature of Florida's karst topography.
Solution: To learn about your septic system (onsite treatment and disposal system or OSTDS) click here. EPA recommends septic tank pump-outs and system inspection be performed every 3 to 5 years depending on how many people live in your household.
Fertilizer application is performed on public property, home owner association common areas, agricultural lands, 
commercial and residential properties. Excess or improper application of fertilizers introduces a significant amount of nutrients into our watersheds. Lee County is currently working on a fertilizer ordinance to reduce nutrient pollution from inappropriate use.
Solution: Selecting plants for your garden or common area that are native or Florida Friendly will save time, effort, money and prevent pollution. Plants that are adapted to Florida's environment will require less water, little or no fertilizer or pesticide and less overall maintenance. If you have an established garden there are certain techniques you can use to reduce your landscape water and chemical dependency. People often over-estimate how much fertilizer, pesticide and water their plants really need. Visit the Lee County Extension Services for more information on native and Florida Friendly Landscape as well as guidelines on proper landscape maintenance.
Domesticated animal waste is a source of nutrient pollution that is more common than you think. This can include 
dog and cat waste simply left on the ground, livestock waste left on the ground where it can become stormwater run-off or livestock wading in streams.
Solution: Picking up dog and cat waste around your house or while walking your pet is a great way to prevent stormwater pollution in your community. Most people are very good at picking up after their dogs at dog parks out of consideration for others who use the park. The same should be true of our neighborhoods! Pet waste can be disposed of in regular trash or in your septic/sewage system provided there are no additional solids included. People with small farms can implement Florida's "Good Neighbor Guidelines" to prevent stormwater pollution on their property.
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