Water-Related News

Estero looks to expand monitoring of Estero River

The Village of Estero says it’s working to change how it monitors water quality in the Estero River. The move comes after an advocacy group said it found signs of bacteria last week in a ditch that leads to the south Lee County waterway.

“Lee County has monitored water quality in Estero for years now. … We’re trying to supplement with more water quality monitoring to zero in on where the problem areas are,” said Estero Public Works Director David Willems.

Measurements taken in a ditch on Three Oaks Parkway north of Corkscrew Road last week had high levels of Enterrococci — a bacteria found in the gut of warm-blooded animals.

The sample taken by the Calusa Waterkeeper group found levels of Enterrococci at 1,850 colony-forming units/100 milliliters, which is above the Florida Department of Health’s standard for beaches of 70 units/100 milliliters, The News-Press reported.

Estero is trying to understand where that bacteria came from, Willems said.