FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Roland Ottolini, Lee County Natural Resources
                (941) 479-8127

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 20, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved $632,000 to help alleviate chronic drainage problems that have plagued the Windsor Road/Meadowlark Lane area in Bonita Springs for several years.

The drainage improvements will include ditching and installing 30-inch and 36-inch piping along a 0.8-mile stretch of the road. The City of Bonita Springs will contribute $100,000 of the $632,000 project cost. The county also will save an estimated $200,000 by piggybacking on a Bonita Springs Utilities sewer project that is underway in the area. The contractor will be Guymann Construction.

Flooding has been a problem in the neighborhood because it is low-lying and lacks an outfall for stormwater to drain after a rainfall. It receives the natural flow of water from an area bounded by Vanderbilt Drive to the west, Bonita Beach Road to the north and US 41 to the east. After heavy rains last summer, the county installed a pump to remove water from the neighborhood’s streets.

While the flood control project may not prevent all flooding, it will drain high water away faster than has happened in the past. More than 200 homes are located in the area.