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The
construction plan for the City of Cape Coral was one of the largest in
Florida. The City was built
from the 1950’s through the 1970’s.
Part of the plan was to make it a “Waterfront Wonderland”,
using fill from the extensively dredged lake and canal system to bring
the homesites up in elevation to a buildable level.
The
City ended up having 300 miles of freshwater canals and 100 miles of
saltwater canals. There are
also a number of lakes, and all of the systems are straight-line, right
angle turns which don’t mimic Mother Nature at all.
They do, however, give the maximum amount of waterfront property
for residences.
Within
the 114 square miles of the city, the freshwater canal system is
subdivided into eighteen separate systems.
The saltwater portion runs the perimeter of the city. The Caloosahatchee River winds around the southern and
eastern sides and the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Buffer Preserve is the
western water boundary.
The
city has performed continuous water quality sampling in these waterways
since 1991. As the systems
get more developed, water quality is increasingly affected. Impacts of development include increased stormwater runoff
due to construction of hard surfaces (roofs, driveways) that do not
allow rainfall to seep into the ground and instead flow directly into
canals. Another impact is
the loss of shoreline vegetation as vertical bulkheads are installed.
Due
to the physical nature of canals (right angles, straight lines,
deep-water, and long distances from tidal action), water tends to stay
in one place and not be continually renewed.
This can lead to stagnation, accumulation of debris and
subsequently poor water quality.
The
saltwater canal systems tend to have more incidents of low dissolved
oxygen and higher amounts of total suspended solids than the freshwater
systems. This is due to
greater depths within the system, and impacts from outside the city.
The Caloosahatchee River is our upstream “source” of water
and as the river goes, so goes our tidal canal system.
Freshwater
systems problems vary. The majority of these eighteen systems appear to
be doing well; problems tend to be noted in the more developed systems
with an overabundance of submerged aquatic vegetation and loss of water
clarity due to algal blooms. In
the quest for the perfect lawn, homeowners often apply fertilizers that
enter our waterways and can lead to increased growth of both of these
plant types.
Water
quality is also impacted by the loss of shoreline vegetation.
Plants at the land/water interface help to take up some of the
problem chemicals before they enter our waterways.
Unfortunately, vertical bulkheads preclude this vegetative fringe
and allow stormwater runoff with its associated pollutants to flow
directly into the canal system.
Homeowners
can help by using native vegetation (native plants don’t need excess
water, fertilizer or pesticides), decreasing the amount of impervious
surface and adding shoreline habitat. (There are a number of freshwater
plants that are attractive, and mangroves work well in saltwater.) Proper disposal of wastes helps the system also, as catch
basins lead to storm pipes that lead to our canal systems and other
waterbodies.
At
the moment, the systems we sample fall into the “fair to good”
categories, according to Florida water quality standards.
As the City develops further, however, homeowners will need to do
their part to keep our canal systems desirable for both residents and
wildlife.
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