Cape Coral residents voice concerns over cattail overgrowth in Nova Canal

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

Residents along the Nova Canal in Cape Coral are raising concerns about overgrown cattails and weeds, which they say are unsightly and create safety risks for those enjoying the water.

"Just everything about it is beautiful except for this isn't the view and smell and things that I have to deal with on a daily basis," said Elizabeth Chavez, a Cape Coral resident.

Chavez and her neighbors say the dense vegetation makes it unsafe to navigate the canal.

"We don't even know what's there, so it's kind of scary to go around in a kayak or anything because you don't know if there could be a gator there because you have no visual view of what's in front of you or around as you come around," Chavez said.

Richard Rossi, another resident, shared his frustrations about the situation.

"Those reeds, I mean, crap is in there, and I'm trying to take it out," Rossi said. "Every once in a while, I take a skimmer, but my skimmer wasn't long enough."

Chavez said she has spoken to the neighbor whose property backs up to the overgrowth, but has not seen any action taken to address the issue.

"The owners don't do anything about it, but I finally found a department that does it, and they came out, but nobody wants to clean it up," Rossi said.

The Lee County Hyacinth Control District sprayed the area once last year and again in February, but the dead cattails remain, and new weeds continue to grow.

The City of Cape Coral told Chavez and Gulf Coast News that seven other properties along the canal have similar growth, but none are violating city code. Environmental experts determined there is no need to dredge the canal, citing no impact to water flow, quality, or safety for people and wildlife. The city said it is up to Chavez or her neighbor to clean up the vegetation if they want it removed, a solution Chavez said is not feasible.

"We want to use them. We want to. People want to enjoy them, and we deserve to. We are a community paying into the system and our taxes. So we are entitled to enjoy them and not look at this every day," Rossi said.

Attempts to reach the neighbor for comment were unsuccessful. Despite knocking on their door several times, no one responded.

Here's the City of Cape Coral's full statement:

"The City of Cape Coral has reviewed recent concerns regarding vegetation and sediment along the Nova Canal and confirms that the waterway is functioning properly, with no impacts to navigation, flood control, or water quality. The shoreline conditions referenced are consistent with approved “living shoreline” designs used throughout the area, which provide environmental benefits and are present on multiple nearby properties.

"Based on current assessments and citywide priorities, additional dredging in this location is not warranted. Maintenance dredging beyond City operational policy is the responsibility of adjacent property owners. The City encourages cooperative solutions between neighbors or private maintenance within allowable areas and remains committed to being fiscally responsible in balancing environmental stewardship with canal system functionality."

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.