Fort Myers pushes wastewater upgrades after 2020 sewage spill triggered state order

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

In 2020, a malfunctioning lift station in Fort Myers caused 183,000 gallons of raw sewage to spill into Manuel’s Branch, prompting a consent order from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to address water quality violations and human health risks.

Jason Sciandra, assistant director of public utilities for Fort Myers, said, "I think it's really important that we focus on kind of what happened in the past, but where we are today as well."

Sciandra showcased the Fort Myers Central Wastewater Treatment Facility, which treats up to 23 million gallons of wastewater daily. He explained the process, saying, "We have essentially bugs in clean water, and we separate out the bugs from the clean water."

Comparing bottles of raw sewage and treated water, Sciandra added, "This bottle here is what it looks like coming into our plant. Then at the end of our treatment process, this is our finished product coming out of the treatment plant."

The Florida DEP required major improvements at the facility, including new deep injection wells, treatment plant upgrades, and reclaimed water projects.

Sciandra said, "We just started in the last month a new construction project, which is going to take the whole plant to treat up to 100% reclaimed water standards, which is going to allow us to take all the water that comes to this facility, divert it from going to the Caloosahatchee River."

Fort Myers has reduced discharge into the river by 50% over the past two years, which Sciandra described as "a huge benefit to the environment."

The city stopped testing for human sources in 2024 after two negative detections, as required by the state. However, Calusa Waterkeeper, an advocacy group that has tested Manuel’s waterways for years, expressed concerns about possible contamination.

Jason Pim, Calusa Waterkeeper, said, "Some of the additional testing that we did as the Waterkeeper and also a test that the Department of Environmental Protection made in 2024 showed that there are still likely to be some human sources."

Sciandra emphasized that the city’s testing met state requirements, saying, "We were able to eliminate, for one, that is coming from the sewer system, which is a very big deal because if that was coming from the sewer system, it'd be something we'd have to address." He pointed to other contributors, such as stormwater runoff, trash, and septic systems.

Pim acknowledged the city’s planned improvements, saying, "The improvements that they are planning to make are good things, but at this point, it's hard to say if those improvements will directly impact the surface water quality that we're looking at."

Sciandra said the city views the consent order as part of a larger effort, stating, "The city does not see this consent order as a one-stop solution to this water quality problem." He added, "As part of that master plan, come up with better stormwater practices, identify where we can get the most bang for our buck, and then identify a long-term program that we can invest in improving the water quality."

For residents and workers who rely on the waterways, the hope is for lasting improvements.

Charter captain Brian Lynch said, "Now we're at a point to where enough has been done. Everybody's going, okay, let's see if we can modify this, and let's see if we can modify that. If everybody will do their part, man, we're going to be back to the positive."

The City of Fort Myers says it remains in good standing with the state but acknowledges that the bigger goal is still years away. Under the consent order, the city must continue major upgrades through 2032, aiming to nearly eliminate discharges into the Caloosahatchee River.

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