A Thoughtful Approach Needed to Resolve Water Issue

When the Deltona Corporation created the vision of Marco Island, they saw a community that would be comprised of a number of uses. Some residential areas with access to the water through a series of canals that would eventually lead out to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. That vision for residential development included a number of styles that included multi-family as well as commercial entities to support the residential inhabitants. 

Their vision would also include areas for houses of worship, healthcare facilities, schools, public safety facilities, and playgrounds. They really did have a wonderful dream for the community that many of us call home today. 

To provide access to the Gulf required a massive project of “dredging and filling” that provided us with the landscape we are familiar with. At the time, it was considered an engineering marvel and was written about in a number of publications.

Fast forward sixty years or so since Deltona first began creating these canals in areas where there were none, and we find ourselves embroiled in more conversations about how to make the water in these man-made highways to the Gulf more pristine. Truthfully, I believe a vast majority of residents applaud an intelligent review of the issue.

Ambivalence and fear have paralyzed council's decision making process on this matter for almost three decades now. In my opinion, some of that relates to their fear of making a mistake, as we did when the proper review of the physical condition of both sides of the existing utility run by Florida Water Services was overvalued during those negotiations. The fact that we did a minimum review of the sewer side of their operation left us to borrow more money after the purchase to repair or replace much of that infrastructure, therefore increasing the debt service.

Now don’t get me wrong, the purchase was the right course of action, however, the argument used to defend it lacked any substance in my opinion. The 2003 council was simply afraid the opportunity to purchase the utility operation would have been lost to a competing entity, therefore losing the opportunity to control our own water/sewer utility.

Before we move any further ahead on these discussions regarding cleaning up the existing conditions concerning our canals, we need to determine the actual source of the issue within them. 

I really don’t have an opinion on the idea concerning building these islands from the nine to 12 inches of sediment at the bottom of the canals. I do, however, recall a number of years ago when a developer wanted to dredge portions of Collier Creek and some in Smokehouse Bay. That process would have involved pumping that sediment onto trucks and transporting those loads over to what is often referred to as Trac K for dewatering. Those spoils, once dried, would have been moved off island. That plan created substantial outrage from residents as to their opposition due to the smell and health/safety concerns in that area, and those plans were shelved.

The concerns of residents regarding the condition of our waterways are legitimate ones and should receive the necessary answers which bring with them solutions that are reasonable and I believe we have a council that is willing to move their concerns forward, but not without due diligence and a thoughtful approach to bringing solutions forward for residents’ support.