WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (November 6, 2020) -- Today the City of West Palm Beach requested that South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) hold a public hearing regarding the EAA Reservoir Reservation Rule and consider alternatives to the proposed rule. The City anticipates the SFWMD Governing Board will hold a hearing in response to the City’s request within the next 30-45 days and prepare a Statement of Estimated Regulatory Costs that will formally consider the City’s proposed alternatives.
The City operates a public water supply system that provides clean and safe potable water to approximately 150,000 residents of the City, the Town of Palm Beach and the Town of South Palm Beach. This water system also helps maintain Grassy Waters Preserve, a unique remnant of the Everglades. The water system also helps support the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project (LRWRP), which is a critical component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The LRWRP is intended to restore freshwater flow to the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River. Funding for the LRWSRP is scheduled to be approved by Congress this year. Since Lake Okeechobee is the primary source of water for the City’s water system, the City has a duty to protect the timing and quantity of surface water discharged from Lake Okeechobee.
The EAA Reservoir is a proposed CERP Project that has not yet been funded by Congress. If constructed, it would store water that is currently released from Lake Okeechobee for restoration of the Everglades and enhancement of water supplies along the Lower East Coast. According to SFWMD, if funded by Congress, the EAA Reservoir will be completed no earlier than 2027. The EAA Reservoir Reservation Rule prematurely reserves all water discharged from the yet to be constructed EAA Reservoir for natural system restoration. The exact quantity and timing of water being reserved by SFWMD is unknown at this time and will not be known until the reservoir is actually constructed.
While the City fully supports CERP and the EAA Reservoir Project, it opposes the reservation of an unknown quantity of water that could potentially reduce the water from Lake Okeechobee relied upon by the City for potable water supply and maintenance of critical environmental features. Further, the City believes the reservation of this unknown quantity of water is premature given the project has not been funded and the U.S. Army Corps is planning to adopt a new regulation schedule for Lake Okeechobee in 2022, which will directly affect the quantity of water available for the City’s supply and the EAA Reservoir. Finally, the City believes the reservation is unnecessary at this time, because every report prepared by the SFWMD and the Corps from 2014 through 2020 indicates that SFWMD’s existing regulations are all that is required at this time to protect the water needed for this project.
The City is looking forward to presenting its case to the SFWMD Government Board and hopes that SFWMD will accept one of the proposed alternatives, which would ensure that the City’s water supply and environmental interests will not be adversely impacted by the proposed project.
