Lee County's Current Water Quality Status

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 County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are currently working on a Basin Management Action Plan or restoration plan to address water quality problems.

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.

What is a BMAP?

A Basin Management Action Plan or BMAP is an inventory of existing (e.g. capital improvement projects) and future watershed restoration projects (structural and non-structural), a timeframe for implementation, operational and maintenance plans that are required to meet the TMDLs (pollution load reduction goal) for water bodies that are verified impaired by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). This regulatory requirement will impact local government capital improvement budgets for Lee County, cities, special drainage and water control districts and has legal implications for failure to comply. Lee County's utilities and NPDES permits will be subject to stricter permit requirements in the near future.Lee County is currently working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, the Cities and non-governmental stakeholders to develop the BMAP.

There are three major basins as defined by FDEP in Lee County.  The Caloosahatchee, Charlotte Harbor (includes Pine Island/Sound, Matlacha Pass, western Cape Coral and Sanibel) and Everglades West Coast (includes Fort Myers, Estero, Estero Bay, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs).

The current status of the TMDL and BMAP schedule is as follows;

New Developments On the Federal/State Front

FDEP is currently developing a numeric nutrient criteria to update the State's water quality standards (F.A.C. 62-302). EPA is now overseeing this process due to the 2008 legal challenge brought in Federal court. Florida may adopt a numeric nutrient criteria to replace the existing narrative nutrient criteria by the end of 2009. EPA is giving Florida up to 24 months to comply.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announces the availability of the Draft Tidal Caloosahatchee Nutrient TMDL for stakeholder review and comment. The public is invited to attend a workshop on this TMDL that will be held at the South Florida Water Management District's Lower West Coast Regional Service Center, 2301 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers, on February 27th, beginning at 9:30 AM. Written comments will be accepted through March 16th, and should be directed to: Jan.Mandrup-Poulsen@dep.state.fl.us.

For more information about the Water Quality Program in Lee County please contact Karen Bickford at kbickford@leegov.com or 239-533-8706.