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Cow Slough

The Cow Slough Watershed contains approximately 3.0 square miles of area and is located in the western central portion of Lee County, Florida with ultimate outfall to the south to Estero Bay. Cow Slough Watershed is bordered to the east by Hendry Creek Watershed, to the north by Deep Lagoon Watershed and to the west by an unnamed basin. Boundary lines for the watershed have been verified based upon Lee County and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) data in addition to field reconnaissance. No previous watershed studies have been performed on Cow Slough.

More particularly, Cow Slough Watershed is bounded to the east by Winkler Road Extension. Winkler Road has a 36 inch diameter cross drain culvert at the intersection of a FP&L access road which acts as an equalizer for minor road drainage. Based on field reconnaissance, these culverts do not appear to breach groundwater in the wet season to Hendry Creek. Possible breaching of storm runoff is probable during intense rainfall via the culvert, hence, the boundary line as shown on the map denotes a break in the line at this location.

The boundary of Cow Slough Watershed proceeding from Winkler Road along the east of the basin, continues northwesterly through sparsely developed residential areas to an abandoned railroad grade which parallels Summerlin Road (a/k/a C.R. 869).

The northwestern boundary of Cow Slough is contiguous to Deep Lagoon Watershed along the abandoned railroad grade. At the intersection of the abandoned railroad grade and Cow Slough exists a 24" x 36" CMP culvert crossing. Equalization of groundwater during the wet season between the two watersheds is probable at this location. The watershed boundary map at this location also depicts a break in the line. During storms which affect both watersheds, it is not anticipated that this culvert will have significant conveyance of runoff, however, results could differ with storms having a directional distribution. Effects of these types of occurrences were not performed as part of this study.

The remainder of the watershed boundary along the southeastern and southwestern portions of Cow Slough follow topographic ridge lines from contour maps and which were also field verified. The watershed is bisected to the north and south by an FP&L access road. There is pending agreements for State Land Purchase of the areas south of the FP&L access road for a vegetative preservation buffer to Estero Bay.

The watershed contains very few developed areas, however, more development is anticipated around Winkler Road Extension. The remaining areas are grassy, low lying flatlands and wetlands containing mangroves in less elevated regions and pines in the higher lands. The topography sloping to the slough is mild with elevations varying from 5.0 feet in the northeastern portion to 1.8 feet NGVD in the southern area. The outfall to Estero Bay is very wide and shallow characterized by the absence of a well-defined channel. Existing swales along the FP&L access road serve to convey the majority of the northern sub-basin storm runoff to the Slough.