After nonprofit Calusa Waterkeeper found potentially dangerous levels of human fecal bacteria in Manuel\u2019s Branch, an urban canal and creek in Fort Myers, the city\u2019s Environmental Advisory Board heard an update on efforts to monitor and address the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the board\u2019s Jan. 6 meeting, city staff said bacteria levels remain elevated but stable in Manuel\u2019s Branch. The city conducts monthly monitoring and has worked with community stakeholders on trash cleanup and other mitigation efforts, said Justin Mahon, Fort Myers\u2019 environmental compliance manager. More intensive actions, such as dredging the canal or expanded testing to pinpoint pollution sources, would require additional funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city is doing what we feel we can within the constraints we have,\u201d Mahon said, noting staff are pursuing competitive state grants for water-quality improvements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Members of the Fort Myers Environmental Advisory Board discuss water-quality monitoring and mitigation efforts during a Jan. 6 meeting at City Hall.<\/p>\n
Fort Myers government<\/p>\n
The Environmental Advisory Board also approved a motion recommending that city staff provide regular updates to City Council on pollution monitoring and mitigation efforts in the canal system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elevated fecal indicator bacteria is a longstanding issue in Fort Myers and in urban waterways across Florida. Manuel\u2019s Branch and Billy\u2019s Creek, another urban tributary, have been identified as hotspots for decades, according to the Waterkeeper\u2019s report. Exposure to fecal pollution can increase the risk of eye, ear, throat, skin and gastrointestinal illnesses\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Stormwater runoff, legacy pollution and other factors contribute to elevated fecal bacteria levels in Manuel\u2019s Branch, city staff said.<\/p>\n
Evan Williams<\/p>\n
Calusa Waterkeeper\u2019s citizen scientists collected nine groundwater and surface-water samples in Manuel\u2019s Branch during 2024 and 2025, confirming human microbial contamination. The samples tested positive for HF183, a human DNA marker, and sucralose, an artificial sweetener used as an indicator of human wastewater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neither the city nor the Waterkeeper has identified a single source of contamination. Officials said it likely results from multiple factors, including trash, stormwater runoff, legacy pollutants in creek-bed sediment, wildlife and other sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manuel\u2019s Branch is a 2.5-mile stream that runs past Lee Memorial Hospital, Fort Myers High School and Manuel\u2019s Branch Neighborhood Park before discharging into the Caloosahatchee River. Despite its scenic appearance, elevated pollution levels pose potential public health risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Billy\u2019s Creek, another Fort Myers urban waterway, has long faced water-quality concerns similar to those found in Manuel\u2019s Branch, according to Calusa Waterkeeper.<\/p>\n
Evan Williams<\/p>\n
In 2020, a sewage spill of more than 180,000 gallons into Manuel\u2019s Branch prompted increased monitoring. Fort Myers adopted a pollution-reduction plan based on Florida Department of Environmental Protection standards, but the Waterkeeper\u2019s report suggests those measures are not improving conditions and may be insufficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City staff and board members discussed adding warning signage at Manuel\u2019s Branch Neighborhood Park, expanding participation in the city\u2019s Adopt-a-Canal program and other steps recommended by the Waterkeeper. Those include targeted vegetation removal to aid cleanup, plugging unused pipes, testing lift stations for leaks, modifying embankments to reduce runoff and increasing the frequency of water-quality testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After nonprofit Calusa Waterkeeper found potentially dangerous levels of human fecal bacteria in Manuel\u2019s Branch, an urban canal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,34850,897,55967],"class_list":{"0":"post-109418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cape-coral","8":"tag-cape-coral","9":"tag-cape-coral-headlines","10":"tag-cape-coral-news","11":"tag-fecal-bacteria","12":"tag-fort-myers","13":"tag-manuel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}