Urgent Scenarios for Region's Water Outlook; Community Foundation April 27 Event to Eye Alternatives
WEST
PALM BEACH, Fla., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As
South Florida experiences its third driest season on record dating back to 1932,
a new, independent study funded by a grant from the Community Foundation for
Palm Beach and Martin Counties lays out four water scenarios for the area's
future - all of them urgent.
The
study, set for official release on Monday April 27 at 8:00 a.m. during a
breakfast conference of media, environmental organizations and local government
representatives at the Community Foundation's West Palm Beach offices,
questions: "Has the region passed a tipping point in which the wells literally
run dry and insufficient water is available to meet rising
demands?"
Dr.
Lance Gunderson, chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at Emory
University and co-author of the study, Envisioning Alternative Futures for Water
Resources in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, is slated to speak and will be
available to the media.
"This
study, which was undertaken through a grant from our Environmental Endowment
Fund, casts a critical eye on the state of our area's water supply and addresses
the dwindling alternatives," Community Foundation President and CEO Leslie Lilly
said.
"Dry
Wells" rank as number one among the four alarming scenarios that depict "very
different futures for water resources in Palm Beach and Martin counties." Each
will be discussed in depth during the study's presentation on April 27. The
study was co-authored by Stephen Light of Adaptive Strategies,
Inc.
In
addition to water conservation, water quality issues will also be discussed.
Attendees at the Community Foundation breakfast conference will also hear first
hand about the world's first network of ORCA's Kilroy Water Monitoring Systems,
also funded in part by a grant from the foundation's Environmental Endowment
Fund. Dr. Edith "Edie" Widder of
the Ocean Research and Conservation Association will share the newest
conservation tool being developed by the Ocean Research & Conservation
Association (ORCA).
Kilroy
provides more accurate water quality data than conventional sampling methods and
is already being used to monitor water quality in the Indian River Lagoon. "This
collection of comprehensive data is critical to the success of water
conservation and protection. The Community Foundation is proud to be among the
funders of this important work," Lilly said.
According
to South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the 2008-2009 South Florida
dry season has become the third driest on record since 1932. Water levels in its 16-county district
are declining, and the stage is set for drought conditions to worsen still
further, as the driest dry season on record, if adequate rain does not fall.
Latest reports show the region has reportedly received less than 30 percent of
its normal rainfall this winter.
Water levels of Lake Okeechobee continue declining, while estuaries at
the mouths of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers are becoming too salty,
and Everglades marshes and Big Cypress swamps are evaporating away.
About
the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin
Counties:
Since
1972, the Community Foundation has granted $74 million to nonprofit
organizations in the community in the areas of Arts and Culture, Community
Initiatives, Community/Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health and
Human Services, Human and Race Relations and Intergenerational Programs. In addition, the Foundation has awarded
more than $4.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,200 local students. The Foundation awards funds and accepts
contributions in support of community initiatives, projects of special interest,
and permanent endowments. Income
from endowments is used to make further grants and award scholarships primarily
in Palm Beach and Martin counties. To learn more, visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org
The
Foundation's offices are located at 700 South Dixie Highway in West Palm
Beach.
About
the Community Foundation's Environmental Endowment
Fund
The
Community Foundation uses its Environmental Endowment Fund to address issues
related to the environment. The
fund was created to address programs that seek to preserve and improve the
area's watersheds, habitat, natural resources and environment. The Environmental Endowment Fund has
supported production of a documentary film, The Indian River Lagoon:
Gateway to Saving the Everglades, along with educational programs and
oyster-reseeding projects. It has
provided grants to nonprofit organizations committed to protecting our
environment. To learn more about the Environmental Endowment Fund please visit
www.yourcommunityfoundation.org/environment.
About
Dr. Lance Gunderson:
Advertisement
Dr.
Gunderson, a Florida native, has chaired the Department of Environmental Studies
at Emory University since 1999. He has served as the executive director of the
Resilience Network, as Vice Chair of the Resilience Alliance and on the Science
Advisory Board of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and Chair of
the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council Committee on
Ecological Impacts of Road Density. He is also Co-Editor in Chief of the journal
Ecology and Society (www.ecologyandsociety.org)
which reports on integrative science for resilience and sustainability. In 2007
he was named a Beijer Fellow, of the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics
Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, (www.beijer.kva.se).
April 20, 2009
Urgent Scenarios for Region's Water Outlook; Community Foundation April 27 Event to Eye Alternatives
WEST
PALM BEACH, Fla., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As
South Florida experiences its third driest season on record dating back to 1932,
a new, independent study funded by a grant from the Community Foundation for
Palm Beach and Martin Counties lays out four water scenarios for the area's
future - all of them urgent.
The
study, set for official release on Monday April 27 at 8:00 a.m. during a
breakfast conference of media, environmental organizations and local government
representatives at the Community Foundation's West Palm Beach offices,
questions: "Has the region passed a tipping point in which the wells literally
run dry and insufficient water is available to meet rising
demands?"
Dr.
Lance Gunderson, chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at Emory
University and co-author of the study, Envisioning Alternative Futures for Water
Resources in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, is slated to speak and will be
available to the media.
"This
study, which was undertaken through a grant from our Environmental Endowment
Fund, casts a critical eye on the state of our area's water supply and addresses
the dwindling alternatives," Community Foundation President and CEO Leslie Lilly
said.
"Dry
Wells" rank as number one among the four alarming scenarios that depict "very
different futures for water resources in Palm Beach and Martin counties." Each
will be discussed in depth during the study's presentation on April 27. The
study was co-authored by Stephen Light of Adaptive Strategies,
Inc.
In
addition to water conservation, water quality issues will also be discussed.
Attendees at the Community Foundation breakfast conference will also hear first
hand about the world's first network of ORCA's Kilroy Water Monitoring Systems,
also funded in part by a grant from the foundation's Environmental Endowment
Fund. Dr. Edith "Edie" Widder of
the Ocean Research and Conservation Association will share the newest
conservation tool being developed by the Ocean Research & Conservation
Association (ORCA).
Kilroy
provides more accurate water quality data than conventional sampling methods and
is already being used to monitor water quality in the Indian River Lagoon. "This
collection of comprehensive data is critical to the success of water
conservation and protection. The Community Foundation is proud to be among the
funders of this important work," Lilly said.
According
to South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the 2008-2009 South Florida
dry season has become the third driest on record since 1932. Water levels in its 16-county district
are declining, and the stage is set for drought conditions to worsen still
further, as the driest dry season on record, if adequate rain does not fall.
Latest reports show the region has reportedly received less than 30 percent of
its normal rainfall this winter.
Water levels of Lake Okeechobee continue declining, while estuaries at
the mouths of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers are becoming too salty,
and Everglades marshes and Big Cypress swamps are evaporating away.
About
the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin
Counties:
Since
1972, the Community Foundation has granted $74 million to nonprofit
organizations in the community in the areas of Arts and Culture, Community
Initiatives, Community/Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health and
Human Services, Human and Race Relations and Intergenerational Programs. In addition, the Foundation has awarded
more than $4.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,200 local students. The Foundation awards funds and accepts
contributions in support of community initiatives, projects of special interest,
and permanent endowments. Income
from endowments is used to make further grants and award scholarships primarily
in Palm Beach and Martin counties. To learn more, visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org
The
Foundation's offices are located at 700 South Dixie Highway in West Palm
Beach.
About
the Community Foundation's Environmental Endowment
Fund
The
Community Foundation uses its Environmental Endowment Fund to address issues
related to the environment. The
fund was created to address programs that seek to preserve and improve the
area's watersheds, habitat, natural resources and environment. The Environmental Endowment Fund has
supported production of a documentary film, The Indian River Lagoon:
Gateway to Saving the Everglades, along with educational programs and
oyster-reseeding projects. It has
provided grants to nonprofit organizations committed to protecting our
environment. To learn more about the Environmental Endowment Fund please visit
www.yourcommunityfoundation.org/environment.
About
Dr. Lance Gunderson:
Dr.
Gunderson, a Florida native, has chaired the Department of Environmental Studies
at Emory University since 1999. He has served as the executive director of the
Resilience Network, as Vice Chair of the Resilience Alliance and on the Science
Advisory Board of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and Chair of
the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council Committee on
Ecological Impacts of Road Density. He is also Co-Editor in Chief of the journal
Ecology and Society (www.ecologyandsociety.org)
which reports on integrative science for resilience and sustainability. In 2007
he was named a Beijer Fellow, of the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics
Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, (www.beijer.kva.se).