Commit to AWT Now

For years, Marco Island’s water testing data appeared to show gradual nitrogen improvement in our canals. Clean Marco Waters questioned that narrative — because residents could see with their own eyes that conditions were getting worse, not better.

Now we have confirmation from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) that we were right. It wasn’t getting better.

In February 2026, FDEP informed us that its quality assurance staff reviewed the City’s Total Nitrogen data produced by its contracted laboratory, AEL, for the period October 2020 through January 2024. Their conclusion: that data should not be used for surface water quality assessments due to quality control failures. FDEP stated directly that the apparent water quality improvement during that period was caused by laboratory matrix issues — not actual improvement in the canals.

The only recently posted January 2026 testing results confirm the true picture. Every single monitored canal location exceeded FDEP’s 0.3 mg/L nitrogen impairment threshold — from 0.400 mg/L at the low end to 0.839 mg/L at Landmark. Not one location passed.

Marco Island’s canals have been on FDEP’s 303(d) impaired waters list since 2019. The compromised testing data obscured how serious the problem remained. The solution — Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) — has been known for years. Our canals aren’t getting better on their own. Like all those that signed the Referendum, we are asking City Council to commit to AWT now.