12-2013 Jupiter Spotlight_North Palm Beach Veterans DayPage 12, Jupiter Spotlight
Commissioner's Update
Estuaries Suffer During Rainy
Season
By Commissioner Hal
R. Valeche
Now that we're out of the
rainy season, and actually
have experienced a drier -
than- normal October, it's a
good time to look back at
the spring and summer and
contemplate the damage that
was done to our environment
by a near record - setting
amount of rain.
There is no doubt that the Indian River Lagoon and the St.
Lucie estuary, which lie to the north of us in Martin and St.
Lucie counties, suffered the most damage and got most of the
news coverage. But the ecosystem of the Lake Worth Lagoon
here in Palm Beach County suffered a great deal as well.
Let me try to explain briefly what has happened and what
we can do as we look to the future to prevent this damage
from recurring, as it unfortunately does every five or six
years. Estuaries like the St. Lucie and Lake Worth Lagoon
thrive when the right mix of salt and fresh water exist. Salt
water enters the estuaries through our inlets and fresh water
comes from rivers and canals, which collect rainwater runoff
and direct it toward the lagoons. When things are in balance,
many types of marine life and plants thrive. However, in a
year like 2013, when there is an excess of fresh water runoff,
the balance changes dramatically. Unfortunately, when that
balance gets out of whack as it did this year, the consequences
for the estuary are pretty dire.
In the Lake Worth Lagoon, we have seen a tremendous
die -off in both the oyster population and the seagrass, which
covers most of the bottom. Both are critical to the health of
the lagoon. Seagrass provides breeding areas and food for
many types offish, and the oysters, in addition to being a food
source, do a significant amount of water filtering. In addition
to the imbalance between salt and fresh water, the lagoon
received a large amount of muck, which is washed into our
drainage systems by rainwater. This muck originates in the
western agricultural areas of Palm Beach County. Muck tends
to cover the bottom of the lagoon and contributes significantly
to the problems we've seen.
To put it in the simplest terms possible, these problems
are being caused by the fact that we don't have enough water
storage capacity in south Florida, so most of the rainwater
that we receive is funneled toward the lagoon and ocean. We
get 60 inches of rain per year in Florida, yet because we can't
North Palm Beach
Veterans Day
Report and Photos by Penny Sheltz
North Palm Beach Veterans Day was celebrated in their
new Veterans Memorial Park next to the library at 303
Anchorage Drive.
Mayor William Manuel welcomed guests and Village
Manager Ed Green gave the opening remarks. The Village
Honor Guard presented the flags followed by the pledge of
allegiance, and Lou Galterio sang the national anthem.
The keynote speaker was Jeff Atwater, North Palm
Beach's hometown guy elected Florida's chief financial
officer in 2010.
Lou Galterio sang God Bless America and Will Twigg,
U.S. Army retired played Taps. Village Manager Ed Green
recognized the veterans in the audience and then gave the
closing remarks.
tiCYHTH PALM. 34:ACH
VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK
store it, we have water shortages during dry years and lagoon
problems in wet years. The obvious solution is to build more
storage capacity (reservoirs, storage treatment areas, etc.),
and we are slowly doing this, but it is both time - consuming
and expensive to build reservoirs and the associated canals,
which allow for the stored water to be moved around.
Palm Beach County is looking toward the federal and state
governments, as well as our local tax dollars, to help fix this
problem and the overall problem of Everglades restoration.
If I can be of assistance to you in any way, please don't
hesitate to contact me at 355 -2201 or by e -mail at hvaleche@
pbcgov.org.
WE'VE GOT THE BOATS... 7
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you bring the crew. =a
Mayor William Manuel cuts the ribbon with the Village
manager and council at the opening of the new North Palm
Beach Veterans Memorial Park.
Book ,your HoCufay Party
at Jupiter Pointe Bar & GrdC
Toast the season at one of the most beautiful spots on the
Jupiter Intracoastal. Now also collecting Toys For Tots Donations.
Call Julie at (561) 541 -4529