Water Worries ...........

(LEHIGH ACRES, FL) -- Rain water from Tropical Storm Ernesto could cost one local company a lot of money. Florida Govermental Utility Authority is being investigated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for spilling treated waste water into a Lehigh Acres canal.

The water treatment plant, stores treated water in holding ponds until the water evaporates or is absorbed into the ground. But, when Ernesto rolled through, the ponds filled up with too much rain water and overflowed into the canal that borders their property, which is illegal.

Barbara Kerby, spokesperson for FGUA assures Fox 4 that the water spilling into the canal is clean and will not hurt the environment. DEP says they have tested the water and could not find any fecal matter, infact they say the water was cleaner than the canal it poured into. However, that is not the issue, the fact of the matter is, FGUA is not permitted to release any water into the canal, and that is why they are being investigated.

This is not the first time this type of thing has happened either. Just last year, FGUA was fined over 50-thousand dollars for the same problem. Kerby says they are working on making sure this doesn't happen in the future. The company is building "Deep Well Injection" System, where more treated waste water can be stored in the future, but it won't be finished for a couple of years.

DEP is still investigating to determine whether or not the company will be fined again.