Water main break causes murky water in Fort Myers neighborhood

A water main break Monday afternoon caused some murky water in a Fort Myers neighborhood.

Photos were circulating online locally, showing brownish, milky water in the Manuels Branch area, where residents received a precautionary boil water notice.

The canal runs from US-41 south of Fort Myers High School to the Caloosahatchee River.

“It was definitely a murky brown. Really, you couldn’t see the bottom of the water,” said Joanne Iwinski Miller, a research volunteer with the Southwest Florida Historical Society.

Miller shared video and photos of the creek on social media.

“It’s just such a tough thing because accidents do happen.”

The City of Fort Myers said a water main break Monday afternoon at Linhart Avenue and US-41 caused potable, or drinkable, water to flow into the waterway, but the water was looking better on Tuesday.

“It looks like it cleared up pretty quick,” said John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper.

“There’s been a lot of stormwater runoff that comes with the rains recently, so it looks like the creek is more or less recovered at this point in time.”

For people who enjoy the area, “It’s just absolutely beautiful and I hope it remains that way,” Miller said.

The precautionary boil water notice is for people on Carrell Road to Cortez Boulevard on both sides of US-41. If you didn’t receive a notice, your property wasn’t affected.

The break also did not impact Lee Memorial Hospital’s water service.