Lakes Park Water Quality Restoration Project Earns Award

Lee County’s Lakes Park Water Quality Restoration Project received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Florida Stormwater Association at its Annual Conference on June 13.

The award-winning, multi-year restoration process is improving water quality by creating a 40-acre marsh that improves the water quality of surface runoff from a 2,000-acre watershed. Increasing wildlife habitat is an additional benefit. The project will improve nutrient removal and oxygen content.

Lakes Park is located in the headwaters of Hendry Creek, a tributary to Estero Bay, Florida’s first Aquatic Buffer Preserve and a designated Outstanding Florida Water. The restoration project addresses a drainage area from high-density residential and commercial land uses, many of which were built prior to implementation of current water quality standards.

The annual awards program recognizes stormwater programs or projects that have demonstrated innovative accomplishments and have shown an outstanding commitment to stormwater management practices that benefit the environment and local citizenry. Award recipients are selected through a competitive, peer-review process. The annual conference was held in Fort Myers.

Lee County Parks & Recreation’s Lakes Park is at 7330 Gladiolus Drive in south Fort Myers. For directions go to www.leeparks.org.

Photo above by Gail Campbell