The Seven Islands development in Cape Coral has broken ground, creating ripple effects throughout the community. Southwest Florida residents and environmental experts are questioning the development’s effect on water quality.
The 47-acre waterfront property, located along Old Burnt Store Road, was officially sold by Cape Coral to Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC for $20 million Jan. 21. The development agreement, which will run for a 30-year term, allows building of nearly 1,000 homes, a 10-story hotel, 45,000 square feet of commercial space and a 39-slip marina.
Clearing on the seventh island began in June, and mangroves were uprooted from the island without a permit. According to the developers, the removal was an accident, and only invasive nonnative species were meant to be cleared.
Due to the mangrove violation, the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped all work on the property other than the permitted clearing of invasive species.
Jason Shultz, a public information officer for the South Florida Water Management District, confirmed the developers submitted a restoration plan for the mangroves, and it is currently under review. The district is also weighing penalties on the developers for the violation.
Will the Seven Islands development disturb water quality in Cape Coral?
The mangrove removal raised the eyebrows of some Cape Coral residents.
“There should be major, major fines going on,” David Scott, Cape Coral geologist and mangrove researcher, said. “What was taken was very, very valuable from a water quality standpoint.”
Since the mangroves’ removal, Scott has boated past the property, noting that turbidity curtains and silt screens to prevent water pollution were improperly installed by the developers.
Mangroves act as a natural water filtration system, cleaning water before it enters Matlacha Pass, an aquatic preserve extending south to San Carlos Bay and north to Charlotte Harbor.
Matlacha Pass is impaired by excessive nutrients and fecal bacteria under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Impaired Waters Rule. According to John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper Emeritus, the removal of the Ceitus Boat Lift in 2008 largely contributed to the impairment.
The lift forced stormwater runoff through the mangrove spreader system, which filters out pollutants before water enters the estuary, according to Cassani.
The removal of the lift and the mangroves in northwest Cape Coral eliminates protections for the area’s natural waterways.
“The system is under a lot of duress as a result of all the development that’s going on,” Cassani said. “Water quality is not getting better — it’s getting worse, and that has an impact on habitat and fish and wildlife.”
Depleted water quality could also negatively impact Southwest Florida’s economy. Matt DePaolis, an environmental policy director with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, points out that Cape Coral’s tourism-based economy relies on a healthy environment.
“When we talk about how we’re developing in Southwest Florida, we need to be thinking about long-term impacts of those developments,” DePaolis said.
Does the Seven Islands development put Cape Coral at risk during storms?
The largest pressures on Cape Coral, he said, all revolve around water, from water supply issues to storm impacts.
Mangroves are one of Cape Coral’s most effective defenses against storm surge, absorbing damaging water before it hits neighboring properties.
“By removing large swaths of mangrove fringe and putting an impervious concrete-built environment there, you’re going to exacerbate the damage from storms in that area,” DePaolis said.
Under Florida law, the developers are required to restore the mangroves, and they have submitted a plan to the South Florida Water Management District. The district and the developers have not responded to requests for details of the submitted restoration plan, including where the mangroves will be restored or the maturity of the replacement mangroves.
DePaolis said restoration must not only include planting new mangroves but also proper monitoring and testing to ensure the mangroves serve their natural purpose.
“If you don’t measure the problem, it’s easier to say you don’t have one,” DePaolis said.
He called the Seven Islands development “another cut in a death by a thousand cuts” since Cape Coral’s original developers, Gulf American Land Corporation, dredged miles of canals through the city’s wetlands.
“That’s what our entire water system in South Florida is based on, is trying to rectify the damage that was done when we started draining the Everglades,” DePaolis said. “We really need to learn from history and start thinking about the future.”
Reach reporter Vanessa Norris by emailing vnorris@news-press.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Will Seven Islands development do lasting damage to Cape Coral waterways?
Reporting by Vanessa Norris, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Vanessa Norris, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
