Sewage leak in Lehigh Acres raises health concerns

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. —

Andy Reisinger of Lehigh Acres reported a sewage leak in his Laurelwood neighborhood last week after noticing a foul smell while walking his dog.

"There was actually sewage bubbling out of the ground, and immediately I contacted FGUA to say, 'Hey, there is a sewage break,'" Reisinger said.

Reisinger described the smell as "horrendous" and noted that it could be detected even from a distance, depending on the wind direction.

"It was horrendous. So, we can even smell it in front of our door and we're quite a distance away, depending on how the wind blows," he said.

The leak has caused murky, smelly water to fill a hole in the area, surrounded by dead grass leading down to a sewage drain.

"The raw sewage goes directly into a storm drain down the line, and it looks like that storm drain goes right into a canal. So we're always concerned about our water quality here in Southwest Florida, and that was the first thing. Otherwise, we have people walking. We have obviously wildlife. We have kids playing. So that's definitely a concern," Reisinger said.

Reisinger contacted the county to have an expert examine the leak.

"They said they would notify a technician to come out and to take a look at it. However, as of Saturday, it was still bubbling out of the ground, and my concern was the environment," he said.

The county has yet to respond to inquiries about whether technicians have visited the area.

Reisinger emphasized the urgency of resolving the issue.

"Not only is this mind-blowing for everybody and everybody involved in the neighborhood, but the health concern and the concern about our water quality; that's the biggest thing. So hopefully it's getting fixed. Hopefully they're looking into it," he said.

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