Background Information

The Ten Mile Filter Marsh Canal Project was approved by the Lee County Board Of County Commissioners in December 2001, with the objective of improving the water quality of the Ten Mile Canal, a tributary to Florida’s first aquatic preserve, Estero Bay.

Constructed in the 1920s, as part of the Iona Drainage District, the Ten Mile Canal was originally built to intercept sheet flow from the then underdeveloped lands to the east. Fifty years later, the canal was widened and deepened, and a number of weirs, including the Daniels Parkway, Page Field, and Tamiami Weirs, were added to protect from saltwater intrusion, to provide water table control, and to improve flood control.

Since the canal’s original construction, as the population of the surrounding area has grown, so have the canal’s pollution levels. The canal is believed to be partially responsible for the increasing pollution levels in both Estero Bay and Mullock Creek.

In response to the declining water quality trend in the Ten Mile Canal, and given the significance of its receiving body, Estero Bay, a cleansing and filtering system was deemed necessary to remove pollutants from the Ten Mile Canal, and the construction of a filter marsh was suggested.

The project concept was initiated by a unique private/public effort in the form of the Water Enhancement & Restoration Coalition (WERC). The WERC group proposed and presented the project to local and state leaders to secure financial support. The Lee County Board of County Commissioners charged its Division of Natural Resource Management with being the local sponsor for the project. This commitment to improving water quality, along with the financial support of both the Board of County Commissioners and the South Florida Water Management District, has made this regionally significant project possible.

Location

Ten Mile Canal Watershed is approximately 68 square miles, of which 55 square miles are located within the tributary Six Mile Cypress Sub-basin. The portion of the Ten Mile Canal Basin that will feed through the proposed Filter Marsh is the eleven square miles upstream of the Daniels Parkway Weir.

Further Information

Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. is pleased to be of service to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and the citizens of Lee County by providing engineering, design, permitting, and construction management services for the Ten Mile Canal Filter March Project.

The project is likely to be completed in 2005.