Town, chamber unveil new water station
A new water quality monitoring station has been installed at the Mound House through a grant obtained by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce Water Foundation.
The water quality station will be operated by the Town of Fort Myers Beach and the Mound House at 451 Connecticut Street on Fort Myers Beach. The station provides real-time water quality data to the public, helping raise awareness about environmental health and sustainability.
The cutting-edge station was developed in collaboration with the Town of Fort Myers Beach and the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Water School and was made possible through funding from the Ft. Myers Beach Chamber Water Foundation ROSE Grant Program.
“This station empowers the public with science,” said Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jacki Liszak. “It reflects our commitment to protecting our waters through research, outreach, and education.”
According to the Town of Fort Myers Beach, the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce Water Foundation obtained grants and donations equaling $32,081.64 for the station. The Florida Gulf Coast University is providing technical support including a year of maintenance and calibration.
This station is the only publicly available live sensor for Estero Bay.
Data from the water quality monitoring station can be found at: https://wqdatalive.com/public/1348.
About the ROSE Grant Program
The ROSE Grant (Research, Outreach, Stewardship, and Education) is a bi-annual competitive grant by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber Water Foundation. It funds projects that advance scientific understanding, community awareness, and sustainability initiatives related to local water quality on or around Estero Island. The ROSE program is accepting grant applications that will promote activities on the beach related to Research, Outreach, Stewardship, and Education (ROSE) for local waters. This competitive grant is awarded each year to applicants who best demonstrate that their proposed project(s) will benefit the citizens and visitors of Fort Myers Beach by increasing scientific knowledge of our local water’s health, better informing the public of water quality health and best practices and developing/implementing education/outreach activities to promote water quality in the region.