The state Department of Environmental Protection and Cape Coral officials are butting heads with Lee County commissioners over the Ceitus Boat Lift in Cape Coral’s northwest spreader canal system. Lee County commissioners recently voted unanimously to halt the dismantling of the boat lift just days before it was set to begin.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Cape Coral officials planned to have the boat lift removed from the canal system because it no longer functions as a barrier.

In the early 1960s, the state dug a series of “spreader canals” as part of an environmental condition of the dredge and fill permits that made Cape Coral possible. The canals’ purpose was to catch runoff from oil, gasoline, antifreeze, grease, fertilizer and pesticides as well as the usual cigarette butts, construction debris and other trash from city development. The canals would concentrate the pollutants in their depths so that nearby pristine Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve and Estuary would be safe from pollution. Boat lifts over the canals’ barrier allowed boat access to the ocean without contamination.

Concerned citizens through myriad groups, including The Responsible Growth Management Coalition, The Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve of Pine Island, PURRE Water Coalition, Inc., The Southwest Florida Watershed Council, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and the Greater Pine Island Civic Association, are joining with The Snook Foundation to take action to enforce repair of the lift and several breaches throughout the system in lieu of dismantling the barrier.

They say decades of pollutants stored in the canals now trickle into Matlacha Estuary through breaches in sections of the spreader canals. The Snook Foundation, as well as the above listed groups, plan to file an administrative challenge against the FDEP and Cape Coral officials to prevent the removal of the Ceitus Boat Lift, north of Pine Island Road. Separately, Lee County commissioners ordered county attorneys to file a petition against the FDEP. Both administrative challenges must be received by the deadline, Monday, April 3.

The outcome has far-reaching effects for the areas around Pine Island. Matlacha Estuary is designated an “outstanding Florida waterway,” and most snook fishermen know that from experience.

“This whole area is based on recreational fishing,” said Linda Roberts, with The Snook Foundation. “City officials might think this a short-term fix, but the long-term consequences can be devastating for this fishery.”