Planning for a sustainable water future in South Florida and the Everglades requires looking beyond the horizon and conserving water now. Everglades birds like Everglade Snail Kites, Wood Storks, and Roseate Spoonbills need the right amount of clean water at the right time in the right place to sustain habitats.
Audubon Florida and our local chapters through South Florida are coordinating to protect water for natural systems by attending meetings and submitting comments to the South Florida Water Management District for the regional water supply planning process.
Regional water supply plans create a roadmap for the use and protection of water resources over the next twenty years. The Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan update covers Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe counties, and also impacts water resources and habitat on the Southwest Florida coast. The regional update maps how southeast Florida will develop and conserve water resources over period of 20 years. This process is also supposed to protect water for natural resources over the planning period.
In collaboration with our chapters in South Florida- Audubon Society of the Everglades, South Florida Audubon Society, and Tropical Audubon Society, Audubon Florida sent a letter to SFWMD in Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan update. We urged the agency to take a closer look at water conservation. Specifically, agriculture should conserve more water through best management practices. Communities should save more water through reduced use of landscape irrigation and other conservation techniques. We also asked the SFWMD to make sure they provide adequate funding for water resources and take a closer look at methods for
climate change adaptation in our region.
On April 24, 2013 at 1 pm the full draft 2013 Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan update will be unveiled to the public. Come let your voice of conservation be heard. The meeting will be at the SFWMD Headquarters, B-1 Auditorium, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406.
Click here to see Audubon’s presentation on protecting natural systems through the water supply process. Stay tuned for further developments.
