CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Claims of naked boaters, all night parties, and fist fights all in plain view! A popular Cape Coral Park within eyeshot of it all. Fed-up neighbors complained to Fox 4 News.
So, we dispatched investigative reporter Alan Jennings to look-into the alleged bad behavior. And, what he discovered on the beach and in the water could be very dangerous.
Resident Lisa Sheriff told Jennings she witnessed boaters tossing buckets of human waste overboard into the basin. That’s not all; Sheriff claims that other homeowners living on the water's edge have witnessed people on boats having sex, and getting beat up.
The police have been called, Sheriff said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Fox 4 discovered Bimini Basin, located just south of Cape Coral Parkway near Palm Tree Boulevard, does not have boat bathroom pump out stations, increasing the risk of human waste making it to the shore of Four Freedoms Park along the basin -- a park frequented by families and their children.
To check for human waste contamination, Fox 4 called Sanders Testing Labs of Ft Myers. We had them test for fecal coliform. The results were positive. 108 CFU.
Biologist John Cassani says the testing levels should trigger posting an advisory there for no swimming.
Cape Coral officials told Fox 4 that Four Freedoms Park is not a swimming beach, and is posted as such, and won’t say if the water safe or unsafe.
Fox 4 didn’t find a single sign indicating that swimming is prohibited.
One family told Fox 4 they have allowed their child to wade in the water at the Park, but because of our story they may never come back.
Fox 4 checked with four agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Cape Coral, Lee County, and the Florida State Health Department. None of the agencies claim they have no jurisdiction to keep the waters of Bimini Basin free of human waste.
