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PrintThat's Just Wrong: Contaminated Canal
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Producer:
Diana Reed
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Living in South Florida, we all know how difficult it can be to find an affordable home on the water. But when one local woman bought a house on a canal, she never thought the water would be used for waste. Tonight, she tells us turning her canal into a trash bin is just wrong.
WSVN -- There's nothing more peaceful to June Ettus than to go in her back yard and enjoy nature.
June Ettus: "I grew up on the seashore. I've always swum. I always watched the fish and the wildlife in the ocean."
But lately the only wildlife around are some plastic ducks, and well they aren't looking too healthy either.
June: "The water has become, to me it looks like a septic tank."
Her once clear canal now filled with weeds.
June: "It's being taken over by a weed. There's no way to kill that weed."
And trash.
June: "As you can see there's plastic bags, there's all kinds of trash and what ever comes in stays in."
Beer cans, water bottles you name it -- it's in here.
In fact, everything's in here except what she wants most.
June: "A lot of wildlife doesn't come around anymore. The birds don't want to drink there. And the fish don't want to spawn there, which they used to do."
And June's not the only one upset, so are the other neighbors.
Neighbor Katheryn Wilson: "This bad situation has been going on for the past four years. But I've lived here now 17 years. We have never ever had the canal this bad."
That's why when June complained to the city of Miramar. She was shocked when she was told this canal is designed to catch the trash from other canals.
June: "That is what they told me. This is a collection area for the refuse."
And now, she's saying that's just wrong.
June: "I don't think that I or any of the other people around here deserve to see it trashed."
When Seven News contacted the city of miramar, we were told the the weather is to blame.
When it's dry, there's not enough water movement to keep out the weed, and when it's windy, the debris gets blown into the water.
The city says it is aware of the problem and tries to monitor it. In fact, they went out the next day and cleaned it up.
June: "There used to be some very big fish coming in from the larger canals and they're no longer around. I mean two three foot."
A sight she hopes to see soon if the city keeps its word.
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