There are hundreds of miles of navigation channels in Lee County. Depending on the channel, maintenance might be the responsibility of federal, regional or local governments; some are the responsibility of the adjacent private property owners. County involvement is defined by policies of the Board of County Commissioners, but generally has focused efforts on non-federal channels that support navigation to public facilities. Residential canals are sometimes dredged by Cities, but in unincorporated Lee County, it is usually done privately or through establishment of a taxing unit to charge benefitting property owners to cover the costs of dredging. More information about taxing units for dredging can be found at Lee County Municipal Services Taxing & Benefits Units (MSTBU).
Basic information about channel depths in Lee County was collected by Florida Sea Grant from 1999 through 2001. You can browse that data on the Property Appraiser's GeoView application. You will need to click the arrow and check boxes for Planning and Zoning and Channel Depths in the Layer Controls in the upper right corner of the map. Zoom to the area of interest and survey depths at average low tide will be displayed on the map.
Questions can be submitted by email or by calling 239-533-8109.