Water project on track at south Fort Myers park

Dig a knee-deep hole in your back yard and it will fill with water during the rainy season. That water won’t necessarily connect to a nearby creek or river and drain to the Gulf of Mexico. It may just sit stagnant, ripe with algae and muck.

Do the same on a public works scale and you get Lakes Regional Park, 279 acres of former quarry lands in south Fort Myers complete with a swimming beach that’s been closed for years because of health concerns.

The park acts as a funnel, collecting stormwater runoff from nearby roads, neighborhoods and golf courses before sending that water south to Hendry Creek and eventually Estero Bay, the state’s oldest aquatic preserve.

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