Title: Chiquita Lock rebuff: Judge sides with environmentalists on lock decision
Headings: Environmentalists take first round in scrap over Cape Coral lock
Environmentalists take first round in scrap over Cape Coral lock
Content: Read: Residents, environmentalists at odds over Chiquita Lock removal
Environmentalists say the lock, and a boat lift in the northeast Cape removed a few years ago, helped to prevent urban runoff from lawns and streets from following the canal system into the river. The lock was built after the company that developed Cape Coral was found to have dredged land without proper permits. In response, Gulf America Corp. and its bankrupt corporate descendants built the Chiquita Lock, the Ceitus Boat Lift and and north and south "spreader waterways" to hold back the rush of contaminated stormwater into the river. "They were built to be stormwater-cleaning systems," said Karl Deigert, one of the petitioners in the case and president of the Matlacha Civic Association. " When you remove locks you are removing that system and are flushing these nutrients into the ecosystem. "Removal of that lock will dump extra nitrogen into the estuary," Deigert said. " You can’t be short-sighted and still protect the environment in the long run." Read: Matlacha residents emotional over removal of the Chiquita Lock
Supporters of tearing out the lock have argued it will improve river access for boaters, who at busy times must wait nearly an hour to get on the river.