Group's wish: Clean drinking water for Christmas in Charleston Park

Volunteers rallied around a common goal: Clean water for Christmas in Charleston Park.

“The solution is from the bottom up,” said Fort Myers resident Neil Volz at a meeting this week of advocates concerned about the rural eastern Lee County community’s enduring trials with bad well water. “When you realize the contours and costs, compared to the life and potential that is impacted, we should be able to join hands and walk this out.”

The hope is to provide a filter and an under-the-sink reverse osmosis system, estimated to cost about $1,200 a home, to one or two families by Christmas and gradually expand outreach in the neighborhood of about 200 residents bordered by orange groves.

The group discussed potential solutions Monday at Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, which employs a resident coordinator at the Charleston Park community center, also a United Way House.