Bonita Springs updates: Imperial River rising after Hurricane Ian. Boil water notice lifted.
The Imperial River is rising, and City of Bonita Springs officials say they’re keeping a close eye on it.
Bonita residents should do the same, says the city's deputy mayor, Mike Gibson.
“The city is currently monitoring the river slowly rising,” Gibson said during a Facebook Live press conference about Hurricane Ian on Sunday afternoon. "We’d like to advise residents near rivers and canals to keep an eye on the water levels.
“There is not a mandatory evacuation at this time. However, should the levels increase, residents in flood-prone areas should take precautions.”
A gage monitoring the river shows water levels have risen 2.10 feet in the last week, according to data listed online by the United States Geological Survey.
The rise is being caused by sheet flow — stormwater that travels across the land after a hurricane — that resulted from Hurricane Ian, Gibson said.
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“The rise has slowed down, so we will continue to watch that," he said. “There is no immediate urgency. There is no mandatory evacuation. It’s just something to monitor at this time.”
The Facebook Live news conference lasted about 6 minutes. Questions weren’t taken afterward.
During the virtual event, City Manager Arleen Hunter asked residents to exercise caution with debris, flooding and downed power lines in the city. She added: “We do want to urge you, as best as possible, if you do not need to be on our roadways, to be safe and be clear of those areas as we continue our assessments.”
During the virtual update, Gibson and Hunter also offered this additional information:
People can get food, ice, water and other supplies at Old Bonita Library, 26876 Pine Ave., Bonita Springs.
The American Red Cross is in town going from neighborhood to neighborhood providing warm food. For a full list of organizations providing aid, call 211 or visit unitedwaylee.org.
The city curfew is continuing from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Hunter said. Plus no one is allowed "24-7" in the Bonita Beach area.
Verizon has instituted cross-carrier roaming for cell phones in Bonita Springs. “If you have no reception, turn your phone off and then back on again," Gibson said. "You may need to do it multiple times throughout the day, but that should help with reception.”
City crews have started doing assessments of damaged property — a process that will take “many weeks,” Hunter said. They’re also clearing debris on public right of ways and identifying locations with safety issues, such as downed power lines (although Hunter added that those lines are not live).
The city is working with CrowderGulf Disaster Recovery and Debris Management to cut and toss away roadway debris so emergency management crews can get to where need to go.
The city's administrative office remains closed, but people can still reach city officials by calling 949-6262.
People can find more resources by clicking the Hurricane Ian icon on cityofbonitasprings.org. Or use the city’s mobile app.
Bonita Springs boil water notice lifted
In another Bonita-related development, Bonita Springs Utilities said Sunday afternoon that most of its customers no longer have to boil their water — with a few exceptions.
"If you are a resident of Lee County and a customer of BSU, meaning you receive a bill from us, there is no need to boil water," the company said in a news release. "We currently have two precautionary boil water notices in place which are listed on our website, under Service Alerts.
"These notices affect only a few streets where we repaired local water lines. Residents of Lee County who are customers of other utilities should check with their service provider on the status of boil water notices in their area."
To find out if you still need to boil your water, visit bsu.us/service-alert.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Ian: Imperial River rising after storm, Bonita officials say
