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West Palm, South Palm, Palm Beach water supplies rely on bill passage

by

Mayor Keith A. James

As mayor of West Palm Beach, I continually prioritize the sustainability and resilience of our environment. As a city that has flourished in the midst of a global pandemic, I do not hesitate to do everything I can to protect and secure our most precious natural resource— our drinking water.

West Palm Beach strongly supports Senate Bill 2508, because that legislation secures an ample supply of safe drinking water for the nearly 130,000 consumers of our water — residents, businesses and visitors to West Palm Beach and the Towns of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach. My efforts to preserve our future water supply are consistent with the actions of Henry Flagler to establish Grassy Waters as a sustainable source of water for West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. Grassy Waters and our system of lakes around Downtown are sourced by Lake Okeechobee. With time and technology, our city has upgraded its physical infrastructure to carry clean and consumable water to homes and businesses.  This is even more necessary as our city continues to experience the influx of new neighbors and the revitalization of existing neighborhoods.

West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James acknowledges applause from the crowd after delivering the 2022 State of the City Address during the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches breakfast on Friday, February 4, 2022 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Most of us recall 2011 when our city and the Towns of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach were in crisis and only 22 days away from running out of water. West Palm Beach worked quickly and creatively with the South Florida Water Management District to activate an emergency-only solution. Since then, the city has implemented more advanced drought resilience measures. But that drought was caused by Mother Nature. That is the key difference with Senate Bill 2508.  

Failing to support this important legislative and bi-partisan action would jeopardize our access to a reliable and predictable source of water. We cannot and should not take that chance.  As mayor I must do everything humanly possible to protect the supply of water for residents, businesses and visitors.

I proudly continue the legacy and foresight of my predecessors and the founders of this city in securing a safe and plentiful water supply. Protecting water is essential to our future. SB 2508 ensures that.

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Originally Appeared Here