Locks are the second leading cause of manatee deaths in Florida. We have a lock in our very own SW Cape Coral that has crushed FOUR manatees in the last two years.

The Chiquita Lock was originally installed over 40 years ago when Cape Coral residents were mostly on wells and septics. This installation was designed to facilitate isolation of polluted runoff from uplands and within the city for treatment before entering state coastal waters. Since this time the city and the homeowners have invested in city water and city sewer thus eliminating the main reason the lock was installed in the first place.

Further concerns were a reduction in water quality and canal depths if the lock was ever removed. As some of you may not know, the lock has remained 100% open since September 28th of 2022/Hurricane Ian. Since the lock has been open for the past seven months, not one manatee has been killed, the water quality on the canals has improved, the depth of the water is the same, thus dispelling the notion of what would happen if the lock were to be removed.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a notice of intent for a permit to be granted to the City of Cape Coral to permanently remove the Chiquita Lock. This decision is fully supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the City of Cape Coral, Lee County Government and the State of Florida.

By signing this petition you are agreeing with the removal of the Chiquita Lock. Recall, the State Environmental Agency has issued an intent to grant the city of Cape Coral a permit to permanently remove the lock.

In addition to the people that have signed above, add another 124 paper signatures we received at an event this week.