Displaced Vessels & Marine Debris

Cape Coral Police Department 

 The Florida Department of Emergency Management has set up resources for people who wish to report vessels displaced by Hurricane Ian (both lost and found), as well as debris in and around the waterways created by the hurricane.The public should call 850-961-2002, email IanDebrisCleanup@cdrmaguire.com, or visit www.iandebriscleanup.com to report displaced vessels or marine-related debris.This applies to boats that are missing after the storm, as well as boats that have been found after the storm. This also applies to boats that are washed up on land, boats still in the water, as well as any debris in the water or on land, like docks or sections of docks, pilings, etc…Please visit www.iandebriscleanup.com, for additional information.

Northwest Spreader Waterway Exit

What is the speed limit on Cape Coral's canals?

Local Resident Tom Dawson's - Letter to the Editor of the Breeze

On March 18, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission announced the state has "passed the mark of one million registered recreational vessels across the state" and here in Lee County, at the end of 2021, there were 50,304 registered recreational vessels.

This increase in boats and boaters along with the increase in new residents on the Gulf-access canals in Cape Coral is creating a lot of tension over what the speed limit is for boats on those canals. As any boater knows the canals are filled with signs that say "Idle Speed No Wake." If there are these signs, it must be true?

Even our city council believed it should be true, so back in 2020 they added an ordinance to Chapter 10 of the Land, Waterway Use Restrictions. In Section 10-10 (b) it says: "The following areas are hereby designated as idle speed zones: (1) Any area which has been duly designated as a manatee sanctuary area or posted as an idle speed zone."

Unfortunately, our city council members and the city attorney at the time either misunderstood or never bothered to read the applicable State of Florida codes governing Manatee Protection Zones. In Florida Administrative Code 68C-22.005 (d) 5. It clearly states; "Slow Speed (All Year) …. including the residential canals of Cape Coral."

Further reading of the Florida codes says that a municipality can petition the state for a different speed limit under certain conditions in Manatee Protect Zones. The conditions don't include blanket speed limits for the entire Gulf access canal system. However, the state would approve a request for an idle speed zone within 300 feet of either a boat launch area or fuel dock.

In the spring of 2020, the city of Cape Coral, under pressure from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, put a notice in the city's quarterly newsletter "On The Move" titled "Outdated Signage in Local Waterways to Be Removed." You can read the notice yourself; it can be found on the city's website on the Community Newsletter page. Some key passages include:

"State law prohibits the placement of any signage in the waters of the state without a state permit." Meaning all signs, private and city posted, that say, "Idle Speed No Wake" must come down. The city also admitted that, "The City's tidal waterways are manatee speed zones and are marked appropriately with "Slow Speed/Minimum Wake" signage at the entrance to our canals from the river." The Gulf access canals are "tidal waterways" and as anyone who lives on them knows manatees forage for food in those canals.

There is a legal definition for "Slow Speed/Minimum Wake" - unfortunately many boaters and canal residents are not familiar with it. The state in F.A.C. Rule 68C-22.002 (4) defines it as follows:

"Slow speed requires that a vessel be fully off plane and completely settled into the water. The vessel must then proceed at a speed which is reasonable and prudent under the prevailing circumstances so as to avoid the creation of an excessive wake or other hazardous condition which endangers or is likely to endanger other vessels or other persons using the waterway. Due to the different speeds at which vessels of different sizes and configurations may travel while in compliance, there is no specific numeric speed assigned to Slow Speed."

The city has a Waterway Advisory Board and in my remarks to the board last September, I advised that information and education were keys to addressing many of our boating related problems. The State of Florida only mandates basic boater education classes for those people born on or after Jan. 1, 1988. We know the bulk of our new residents don't meet the requirement so they get a boat and hit the waters without learning the rules.

A city employee told the Waterway Advisor Board it can do nothing to remove the illegal speed limit signs in the canals that private residents have on their property. Beyond the article mentioned previously, the city has not taken any substantive measures to inform canal residents and boaters the current rules and regulations. Even the current "Canal Owner's Manual" which was written in 2009 doesn't address any boating rules and regulations.

The following are some of the recommendations made to the city's Waterway Advisory Board

1. Repeal city ordinance 10-10 (b) and harmonize the city regulation with one that mirrors F.A.C. 68C-22.005 (d) 5. "Slow Speed (All Year) - including the residential canals of Cape Coral."
2. Add the state's definition of Slow Speed Minimum Wake to city ordinance 10-10.
3. Notify all canal homeowners and boaters what the legal speed limit is and post this information online.
4. Notify all canal homeowners the need to take down all of the illegal "Idle Speed No Wake"signs on their property.
5. Obtain a permission from the state to establish "Idle Speed No Wake Zones"at boat ramps and gas docks.

Finally, for all boaters new and old in Cape Coral learn all the boating rules and regulations by taking an approved Boating Safety Course and earning your State of Florida Boating Safety Education ID Card. This course covers all of the Federal, and State regulations along with boating basics that Florida boaters need to know. A listing of approved course providers is available at myfwc.com.

Tom Dawson

Cape Coral

NW Spreader Dredging Question

Hello Members,

One of our NWNA members, Francis Harrison, sent in a question that we didn't have the answer to, so we sent it to Michael Ilczyszyn, City of Cape Coral's Assistant Public Works Director and asked him to comment. We thought you would like to see the correspondence.

First is the member's question and below is the response to the NWNA from Mr. Ilczyszyn. In the correspondence, there is mention of dredging being an agenda item on an upcoming Waterway Advisory Board Meeting. When I see that item on the agenda, I will be asking members to attend the meeting and speak on the importance of dredging.

John Bashaw
(920) 449-2000

Dear Sir,

It becomes more obvious each week that the passageway near the old lock needs to be dredged. Further down the boat passageway near private homes, there is another bad area. It's indisputable that it needs attention and as the NW grows and there are many more boaters aren't we heading for a significant problem that will affect us all?

Shouldn't the city budget for dredging and address this problem? We all enjoy boating and I think we all would agree that it must be addressed in the near future. Perhaps you can give this some thought and plot a course of action that would be successful. This affects many of us and is very, very important.

Francis Harrison

John,

The bathymetric survey was performed a couple of months ago to determine the depths and volume of material to be removed. City crews are completing a couple of spots in the SE then will be moving to the NW Spreader at Sirenia Park. As far as the Matlacha portion there is no Army Corp permit for this work. One will be submitted in the future. Call me at your convenience to discuss if needed.

As you indicated this will be part of our upcoming presentation to the Water Advisory Board--program operations, permits, planning, funding, restrictions, and projects.

Have a great weekend.

Michael Ilczyszyn
Assistant Public Works Director