LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Funding for a major water project in Lehigh Acres has been secured. The $1.6 million project is intended to help keep Bedman Creek from drying up during winter months.
The project, called ROBUST Phase IV (Rehydration of Bedman Creek), will add water quality features and create storage areas to maintain water flow throughout the year.
Click to hear how this is intended to help the Caloosahatchee River:
"Our robust project, which is basically going to clean up some of our water, put some water quality features in and some other features so that we can keep Bedman Creek hydrated as long as we can," David Lindsay with Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District said.
The project, he says, addresses a significant environmental concern affecting the Caloosahatchee River.
"The Caloosahatchee right now has a TMDL, which means it has too much nitrogen in the Caloosahatchee River. This will help reduce that," Lindsay said.
Reducing nitrogen levels is crucial for preventing algae blooms in the river, as nitrogen fuels algae growth.
"It will create a storage area where we could store some water and clean that water up and also will hope to build a water control structure in Bedman Creek to help regulate the flows better," Lindsay said.
The funding means people in Lehigh Acres won't face increased water fees to pay for this environmental improvement project.
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