Each week through the General Election, The Breeze will ask the candidates for Cape Coral City Council an issue-related question. In the interest of fairness, each candidate is limited to the same amount of space, about 100 words, for their response.

This week’s question is: Water quality is an acknowledged regional issue. Does the city have a role in addressing this issue? If not, why not? If so, what approach would you support?

District 2

Bryan DeLaHunt

Cape Coral has always been known as a Waterfront Wonderland. Water quality must be first and foremost not only for our future water needs as we continue to grow, but also to maintain real estate values and the tourism draw to our area. Simple things can be implemented easily such as a phosphorus free fertilizer ban year round, increase use of native plantings in our residential, commercial, and median projects, and putting together an environmental/water quality advisory board much like those we have for other city concerns to make sure we leverage the best ideas available to stay a step ahead of other cities. We must leverage our city’s size to make statewide projects benefit our city.

Dan Sheppard

Protect our drinking water and canals. Our city has the ability to reverse these issues. Create percolation to clean and rejuvenate aquifer. Our system is designed for water to run off to canals. Swales in front of homes can be French drains. Home gutters can be hooked up to no longer use septic system. More trees added to city for shade softening the ground resulting in percolation. Also the more green we have it filters water and lowers temperature. Parking lots at parks should be pervious, not concrete or asphalt. Citizens are told they’re polluting. City continues building the problem, implement nature’s fix.

District 3

Chris Cammarota

The City must fully engage in our water quality woes now. We are a boating community with 400 miles of canals and tremendous growth; clean water is our #1 job.

Form a stakeholder’s action group involving one council member, Maya Robert the manager of the city environmental team, along with the Calusa Waterkeepers. Together look at septics on or near the water, storm water runoff, and expedite the UEP Master up Burnt Store Road. Inspect the real science behind the Chiquita Lock removal.

We must make good decisions and develop solutions using experienced people and stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars!

Tom Hayden

The city has a significant role. A strong voice from our representatives is crucial at the local, state and federal levels in continuing to move forward with water quality projects that help eliminate blue green algae blooms and other nutrient pollution that impact our 409 miles of salt and freshwater canals. Our role continues in developing a stronger fertilizer ordinance which eliminates harmful nutrients that help with the growth of those blooms through stormwater runoff. Our strong voice at major water quality events involving the DEP and Army Corps, working with key stakeholders and environmentalists is critical in establishing a water quality position that educates our residents of best water quality practices.

District 5

Louis C. Navarra

The city has a role in addressing water quality. Unfortunately, it rests with Tallahassee to come up with the answers and the U.S. government. I would keep lobbying our local legislators and senators. I have been out to the lake and Big Sugar is a problem. I see what they do. Perhaps we can send Joe Mazurkiewicz to lobby for us. He has a firm here in Cape and helps construction industry and zoning etc. in lobbying the City Council.

Robert Welsh

Yes, the City has a role in addressing our water quality and has been proactive.

I support :

The pipeline project with the City of Fort Myers to keep their effluent water out of the Caloosahatchee River and process it for irrigation.

Our collaborating membership in the CHNEP Conservation Association, to lobby for additional state and federal funding.

Ongoing open communications with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the Lake Okeechobee releases.

Prompt action by our Public Works department to mitigate green algae blooms like the bloom at the Palmetto Pines golf course, to quickly mitigate this year’s bloom and limit its spread.

Updating the local fertilizer ordinance to minimize local impact.

Action by City Council at the Oct. 19 Council meeting to form a Water Committee with the Cape residents.

District 7

Jessica Cosden, incumbent

The city absolutely has a role in addressing water quality. Water impacts our health, safety, and quality of life, not to mention that we should be good stewards to our environment. I support a multifaceted approach to water quality. First, while we can’t directly control what comes to us via the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee, we can form partnerships and lobby higher elected officials in favor of good policy and projects that reduce harmful discharges. We can take care of our own water by continuing policies such as absolutely zero wastewater discharged to our surface waters; regulating fertilizer usage (I support strengthening the ordinance); and proactive, progressive stormwater projects such as bioreactors and filter marshes.

Dr. Derrick Donnell

Water quality is one of the most important issues facing our region. Yes, Cape Coral has a role in addressing water quality. We need to do all that we can to eliminate nutrients and other pollutants from entering our canal system. During my time as council member we passed our current strong fertilizer ordinance. We need to continue to enforce this ordinance. The UEP project needs to continue because that will remove septic fields that are near our canals. Additionally, we must ensure proper maintenance of our reuse facilities which allows us to recover water rather than dump any water into the river, Gulf, or estuaries.