Cape Coral gets the final thumbs up to remove the Chiquita Lock

It looks like there is an end in sight to the ongoing saga involving the Chiquita Boat Lock.

Cape Coral announced on Monday that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the City’s Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) for the South Spreader Waterway Enhancement Project. It includes the removal of the Chiquita Boat Lock.

Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Van Wyk’s ruled in the city’s favor in June to remove it.

The Lock had been at the center of a legal battle for years.

It is located in Cape Harbour and provides Gulf access through the river from Camelot Canal and Southwest Spreader Waterway into the Intercoastal. Many boaters wanted it removed because, on a busy day, you may have to wait hours to move past the lock.

However, environmentalists believe removing the lock will further contaminate the Caloosahatchee. The Lock was designed to prevent runoff from Cape Coral canals from entering the Caloosahatchee.

WINK News Reporter Maddie Herron spoke with Matt Depaolis, the Environmental Policy Director of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

“Our biggest concerns really are centered on that nutrient pollution,” explained Depaolis, also saying how removing the boat lock could manifest into larger algae blooms and more contamination in the Caloosahatchee.

Depaolis added, “It’s going to manifest in more algae, more impacts from the associated nutrient pollution. So whether that’s macro algae washing up on the beaches, or something more harmful, we’ll see it down the line.”

Now that the City has the Final DEP Order, it is not wasting any time moving forward with the Chiquita Lock removal.

In a release, Cape Coral stated, “The City has already begun taking immediate steps to secure the necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to advance the lock removal project. Additionally, City officials have been in communication with the contractor responsible for the lock’s removal to ensure the project progresses without delay.”