Bonita Springs
Neighbors along the Bonita Springs waterway say the casually floating debris from Hurricane Ian makes it look like a floating junkyard.
Jim Foley and Scott Ross are Bonita residents and have been watching this for a while since Ian.
“I think everyone forgot… Actually, I have a boat waiting for you. However, in Estero Bay, everything from cars to houses to debris is just floating around your refrigerator and electrical appliances, so you can’t go home. We couldn’t even bring it in,” says Foley.
Ross and his family came across East of Hickory Boulevard.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen it. It was kind of painful. We’re just watching it and wondering how someone is going to clean it up,” Ross said.
“Everything from sofas and couches to trash cans, hitting everyone’s debris, boat jet skis, etc,” Ross said.
“The dog thought we were getting close to land, jumped overboard and landed on the door, thinking we were safe,” Ross said.
For Ross and his family, it became personal.
“It’s about a third of a mile from our house, so from the other side of the street on Hickory Boulevard, we were watching what blew across the road into the bay,” Ross said. “So we saw our property there, along with other people’s.”
It’s decidedly not aesthetic, but local residents’ concerns go beyond mere appearance.
Another Bonita resident, Steven Jensen, said, “They’ll still have things under the water and sand. There’s no way to clean them.
As to who is tasked with cleaning it all up, the Fish and Wildlife Commission told WINK News that the Emergency Management Service is working closely with the FWC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Coast Guard and local governments to identify the debris. I explained that I was removing the waterway.
Click here to go to the Hurricane Ian Debris Removal website.
