New locks, North Spreader cut-though needed to protect water quality
To the editor:
Maybe it’s time for the present lock to stay in place, one to be reinstalled, and another to be installed at the top of the N. Spreader Canal. The problem is simple and it’s called poor water quality with a considerable and ever-growing amount of pollutants originating from Cape Coral stormwater runoff with the result being the continued loss of precious underwater habitat throughout areas of Matlacha Pass and Pine Island Sound.
Is the Cape the only source of these environmental poisons? Not at all as Matlacha and Pine Island contribute their share along with sources to the north that pollute the harbor that mixes with our local waters. Finally the steady stream of agriculture and animal farming pollutants from Lake Okeechobee adds to the local toxic stew.
“Storm water runoff is one of the largest water pollution issues facing the U.S. today,” says Larry Levine, a senior attorney in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s water program.
Daily summer rains wash pesticides, heavy metals, and petrochemicals from Cape lawns and roads into northwest Cape canals then into the Spreader then into Matlacha. Cities across the country are addressing this stormwater runoff contamination in a big way and we need to get serious and do our part as a city to mitigate the damage we cause to ourselves and neighbors.
On daily fishing trips in Matlacha Pass, horseshoe crabs, seahorses, file fish, starfish and other water quality sensitive marine life were always present, but now gone. My canal used to be full of blue crabs. I rarely see one now. Huge areas of vital seagrass’s gone. These are all obvious indicators of a marine system in real trouble.
Another huge environmental and logistical problem for Matlacha and Cape Coral is oversize commercial growth on the Spreader all using tiny Matlacha as a passage out to the harbor.
The logistical problem — the planned 7 Islands project includes a 300-slip marina. Imagine a Saturday morning in January with maybe 200 of the marina boats plus all the northwest Cape residents’ boats trying to navigate the tiny canal behind Micelli’s Restaurant out to Matlacha Pass? That’s with the old lock already removed.
The environmental issue — Unfortunate-ly, many boats in marinas, like parked cars, leak oil. That is a fact. Like a thousand cars parked at mall daily leaking oil onto already heavily stained blacktop, boats and marinas suffer the same issues. If a marina operator tells you their operation is pollution free I would advise you to have serious doubts. Where would this marina oil pollution end up? Matlacha Pass.
Lastly is access to Charlotte Harbor at the top of the North Spreader. Since the northwest is going to be a construction zone for the next ten-plus years as folks continue to move in and wanting access to the water it’s time to think about finally opening the existing cut on the N. Spreader all the way out to the harbor as originally started but stopped after the first 50 yards or so.
Seems if the Cape wanted to really get environmentally serious we should continue to upgrade our city storm water treatment. Keep the existing lock in place, reinstall the lock at the south end of the North Spreader Canal then finish the old channel out to the harbor at the top of the North Spreader and install a new lock allowing access to the harbor on that end, mitigating our pollution currently going into Matlacha, the river, and the harbor. Pollution, that grows along with an ever-growing Cape population and development.
One problem with making the Northwest Spreader canal more enviro friendly using north and south locks, are the existing breaches already present along the North Spreader that would need to be addressed.
The other issue is much bigger and seemingly unsolvable. Imagine a thousand new residents bringing or buying boats to enjoy local waters. Where will it stop? No one knows, but they’re definitely coming and in the meantime the underwater environment continues to suffer. In the end maybe we’ll all end up here shoulder to shoulder searching for the reason we came.
George Tunison
Cape Coral