LEHIGH HIGH
A house in southwest Florida has been a smelly nuisance to immediate neighbors for almost a year. The health department has stepped in and a lack of response from homeowners is forcing health officials to make this a legal matter.
The Florida Department of Health in Lee County says homeowners to a home in Lehigh Acres are responsible for an odor that is not well picked up by nearby neighbors. DOH-Lee says the cause is a leaky septic system in the house.
“You can smell it for miles,” said neighbor Dagoberto Amador.
DOH-Lee is in the process of calling in the courts to find a solution to the matter. The health department wants a judge to ask homeowners to repair and clean their property.
“It’s like six or seven toilets are open because the pool is there, this huge pool they have,” explained Amador.
Amador said his neighbors across the street had a problem with their septic tank and it has been in place since July 2020.
“And then he dug a ditch up to the main ditch next to the road so that all this waste, all the garbage, could come out,” Amador said.
DOH-Lee has visited the house several times to issue quotes, but there has been no noticeable cooperation from the homeowners.
“The smell gets really heavy right after dinner, I think when everyone starts using the toilet,” said Amador. “And there seem to be a lot of people over there.”
DOH-Lee began quoting homeowners daily on May 11, with $ 22,000 in fines accrued since then.
We tried to speak to the homeowners but couldn’t reach them.
If the homeowners don’t cooperate, DOH-Lee wants a judge to declare the property uninhabitable and ask the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to make sure it stays vacant.
“We like to organize our Easter egg hunt for the great-grandchildren here,” said Amador. “And that was interrupted because the smell was so bad. Everyone had to go home earlier. They couldn’t take it any longer. “
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