The environmental impact of saltwater storm surge flooding on coastal Lee County during Hurricane Ian continues.
During the storm, feet of salty water from the Gulf of Mexico were pushed onto normally dry ground and invaded many freshwater ponds in areas like Pine Island and Sanibel Island.
Though the storm surge receded after the hurricane, the salt that was deposited into the formerly freshwater ponds remained. This meant that the freshwater they once were full of became brackish, a term used to describe a mix of both salt and freshwater.
Though some animals like alligators and bull sharks can live in fresh, salt or brackish water, many species of animals cannot. And in the nearly two years that have passed since the hurricane, what animals that need freshwater in these ponds to survive have been killed off.
Unfortunately, it will take a long time for the environment to fully recover. Even in ponds where the water entirely evaporates during the dry season, the salt in those ponds will persist.
To remove the salt, areas where brackish water has taken over need to flood multiple times from freshwater rain with no additional saltwater storm surge events to set the process back.
Flooding the ponds with rainwater will allow the salt to essentially flush out of the area, which eventually would allow the composition of the ponds in coastal Lee County to revert back to normal. A feat that may take years and years to complete.