FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 A two-year investigation by local environmental group Calusa Waterkeeper has found evidence of human-source fecal contamination in Manuel\u2019s Branch, a small urban creek located just south of Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.<\/p>\n
FOX 4 Meteorologist Andrew Shipley first reported on concerns surrounding the creek back in May, when he joined Calusa Waterkeeper rangers as they collected water samples. <\/p>\n
Calusa Waterkeeper Finds Evidence of Human Fecal Contamination in Manuel\u2019s Branch After Two-Year Investigation<\/p>\n
At the time, the organization said bacterial levels in the water were alarmingly high. Now, new testing appears to confirm those concerns \u2014 and raises fresh questions about where the contamination is coming from.<\/p>\n
Bacteria Levels Thousands of Times Higher Than Safety Thresholds<\/p>\n
Manuel\u2019s Branch has repeatedly shown extremely high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria, which signal contamination and potential health risks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see bacteria notification at a public beach, that number is 70,\u201d said Jason Pim, a board member with Calusa Waterkeeper. \u201cHere we get numbers all the time that are in the 2,000 to 4,000 range, and as high as 10,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the organization, those levels make the creek unsafe for swimming, fishing, or any direct contact.<\/p>\n
Testing Shows Signs of Human Contamination<\/p>\n
While elevated fecal indicator bacteria can come from wildlife, pets, or stormwater runoff, Calusa Waterkeeper conducted expanded testing on both surface water and groundwater. Pim said the goal was to determine whether the contamination was human-related.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are indicators that you look for \u2014 DNA markers and things like artificial sweeteners and Tylenol,\u201d Pim explained. \u201cThey help rule out whether the bacteria is from an animal source and point to a human source.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s results suggest human contamination is present in the creek. However, their investigation did not identify the specific location or cause.<\/p>\n
Call for City Action<\/p>\n
Because the source of the contamination remains unknown, Calusa Waterkeeper is urging the City of Fort Myers to take a larger role in ongoing testing.<\/p>\n
Currently, Pim said, the city samples the creek at one location once per quarter. He argues that more frequent and widespread sampling is needed to narrow down any potential point sources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it needs to be done with a better plan, in more spots and more frequently,\u201d Pim said.<\/p>\n
Could Shape Water Quality Efforts Across Florida<\/p>\n
Pim added that solving the issues in Manuel\u2019s Branch could help inform water quality strategies in other impaired waterways across the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can find better tools to fix the problem here, we can use those tools to fix problems in waterbodies all across Southwest Florida and Florida at large,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a problem becoming more and more prevalent as we grow and become more urbanized.\u201d<\/p>\n
City Reviewing Report, Public Hearing Scheduled<\/p>\n
FOX 4 reached out to the City of Fort Myers regarding Calusa Waterkeeper\u2019s findings. A city spokesperson said officials are still reviewing the report and could not comment further.<\/p>\n
A public hearing between the city and Calusa Waterkeeper is scheduled for December 2 at Fort Myers City Hall, where the findings of the investigation will be formally discussed.<\/p>\n
“This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 A two-year investigation by local environmental group Calusa Waterkeeper has found evidence of human-source…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[34844,209,211,210,4489,34850,34845,34846,34847,34851,356,34848,34849],"class_list":["post-56123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-calusa-waterkeeper","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-downtown-fort-myers-florida","tag-fecal-bacteria","tag-florida-water-pollution","tag-fort-myers-environmental-issues","tag-fort-myers-water-contamination","tag-human-contamination","tag-lee-county","tag-lee-memorial-hospital","tag-manuels-branch-creek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56123","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=56123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}