Determining Who's in Charge of Canals Can Be Tricky (Cape Coral: sales, real estate)

[yoko]

“Our economy is based largely on tourism and real estate,” said Lee County’s water quality coordinator.

Those miles of canals also are conduits for tons of trash, much of which winds up in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

This year, Keep Lee County Beautiful and its volunteers have gathered more than 38 tons of junk, much of it from rivers and canals. That puts it on track to beat out the 66 tons collected in 2006, which included debris from Hurricane Charley.


“In the last decade we have seen nothing but ever-decreasing quantities of wildlife and poorer water quality flowing past our dock on the Caloosahatchee,” said commercial fishing guide Pxxx.



June/27/2010
Trash by tons soils Lee County canals | news-press.com | The News-Press






Please try to keep canals clean for the sake of water quality .

[Ruby24]

Originally Posted by yoko

“Our economy is based largely on tourism and real estate,” said Lee County’s water quality coordinator.

Those miles of canals also are conduits for tons of trash, much of which winds up in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

This year, Keep Lee County Beautiful and its volunteers have gathered more than 38 tons of junk, much of it from rivers and canals. That puts it on track to beat out the 66 tons collected in 2006, which included debris from Hurricane Charley.


“In the last decade we have seen nothing but ever-decreasing quantities of wildlife and poorer water quality flowing past our dock on the Caloosahatchee,” said commercial fishing guide Pxxx.



June/27/2010
Trash by tons soils Lee County canals | news-press.com | The News-Press






Please try to keep canals clean for the sake of water quality .

Besides the fact that people are disgusting pigs the system of garbage pick up in CC contributes to the garbage. Having open containers for recyclables is stupid. the stuff falls out all the time. I constantly am picking garbage up after trash day. It all adds up. I heard CC was going with a new company that uses closed containers. That's good. So much garbage comes off of open trucks as well. Something should be done about that as well. But basically people are slobs and don't care.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by Ruby24

I constantly am picking garbage up after trash day.

Thank you!



" It all adds up to trouble, for the whole county — not just those who live on canals.

"“It just blows me away. We’re trying to have a pristine community that will attract tourists and instead we have this.”"

Unless people volunteer for trash patrol, cleaning is done on a crisis-by-crisis basis, Smith said.

“Like when you get so much stuff in there you run the risk of having the thing back up and flood,” he said, “but there’s nobody to specifically regulate them unless it turns into a real health issue.”

Wxx Txx has lived on Cape Coral’s Sierra Canal for 30 years.
In that time, he said he’s seen everything from dead dogs to dock timbers in the canal. "



June/27/2010
Trash by tons soils Lee County canals | news-press.com | The News-Press


precious water.

[Samiamnh]

On this issue,I agree with you wholeheartedly.I have fished out lots of junk that was floating by my dock.Up north,low lifes dump garbage in the pristine forests because they are too lazy and stupid to go to the dump.Down here,the canals are handy........I notice that,down here,there are some third world type people and dumping garbage in the water is a way of life for them back home.

[yoko]

“ Life as we know it would be impossible in naturally soggy Southwest Florida without canals.

Canals provide the drainage essential for human settlement, and waterways for some of the tens of thousands of boats that are a signature of our way of life.

This matters:
For one thing, the trash looks awful.
People don't want to invest in a community that's trashed

For another, the impact on our natural environment is serious. Trash can tangle or be eaten by wildlife. Oil from leaking offshore wells is catastrophic, but polluting chemicals dumped locally can have a serious effect, too. “

People report litterers repeatedly, with no results. "


June/28/2010
Lee County canals need help with trash: Editorial | news-press.com | The News-Press


Excellent writing!

[hiknapster]

One of the things that I never adapted to was the transient nature of the area. People were either just moving in or just leaving. And the snowbirds always acted like it was a nice area to winter in but it wasn't "home." Natives and immigrants, alike, were often dumping stuff, throwing trash out windows.

I always felt like the area wasn't "loved" or respected. I hated that.

[BritPop]

Well, when I take possession of my own little piece of SWFL canal, if I find any ****er chucking **** into my canal, he's gonna be going in shortly after to fish it out!

Wherever you live, there will be people who simply don't give a **** about their local environment. Hopefully, a good sense of community will help to stop that - whatever the nationality of the people involved

[Ruby24]

Originally Posted by BritPop

Well, when I take possession of my own little piece of SWFL canal, if I find any ****er chucking **** into my canal, he's gonna be going in shortly after to fish it out!

Wherever you live, there will be people who simply don't give a **** about their local environment. Hopefully, a good sense of community will help to stop that - whatever the nationality of the people involved

You are right if the community as a whole stands together against people who litter and do something it would help a great deal. When you feel you are the only one in ur neighborhood that cares you lose hope.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I always felt like the area wasn't "loved" or respected. I hated that.

Completely the opposite is true.

Cape Coral residents pay property taxes, sales taxes, are fined for minor city code violations, witness mismanagement of the city and are victims of realtors', flippers' and speculators' greed

and yet, they still volunteer to do so many things on their own to revive the city and to help each other.

Very diffiuclt situation for every one, even for the wealthiest as they cannot bear seeing their fellow residents are suffering not only because of diminishing environmental health but also because of lack of any economic direction.

Residents are leaving because they have given up trying.

[Samiamnh]

There will always be people who don't care.......the only solution,I believe,is for others to "adopt" a section of canal,roadway or a vacant lot.We have a vacant lot next door and keep it mowed,trimmed and picked up as if it were ours.Other neighbors patrol the canal and remove trash when it show's up.Fortunately,our SE neighborhood has few problems and is looking pretty good but I see other areas that a fairly nice with overgrown vacant lots or forclosures that are in disrepair.