Palm Beach buys its water from the City of West Palm Beach under a 30-year retail and franchise agreement that expires in October 2029.
Where should the town’s water come from after that? What should Palm Beach do to secure the cleanest and most reliable water for its residents in the decades ahead? What water sources and treatment options are available?
These questions will be at the center of discussion at the Palm Beach Civic Association’s Welcome Back Community Update and Water Quality Forum on Thursday, November 7, at 10 a.m. at the Mandel Recreation Center.
The forum is open to all Civic Association members and residents. Valet parking will be available.
Michael Pucillo, chairman and CEO of the Civic Association, will moderate a panel of experts that includes Town Council President Bobbie Lindsay, who will deliver opening remarks.
Pucillo said the purpose of the forum is to educate residents about the available options and how they compare to the status quo.
“We will hear from experts on both the current source for town water and potential alternatives,” he said. “We will also discuss current and alternative water treatment options and the pros and cons associated with each. Our hope is that this forum will give town residents a better understanding of the issues the town is facing as it looks to obtain a reliable source of water going forward.”
The panel will include Michael Reiter, founder and security strategist at Michael Reiter and Associates, retired Palm Beach police chief, a member of the Civic Association’s Executive Committee and a Civic Association director since 2013; John Potts, P.E., senior consultant with Kimley-Horn and Associates, which is a consultant to the Town of Palm Beach; and Lisa Interlandi, policy director at the Everglades Law Center.
Water quality has been a foremost concern for Palm Beach officials and residents since May 2021, when the City of West Palm Beach’s treated drinking water supply was briefly contaminated with a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom.
West Palm Beach relies on surface water drawn from Lake Okeechobee and the Grassy Waters Preserve that is treated at its water processing plant at 1009 Banyan Boulevard with chlorine and other traditional treatment methods. The city says its water is safe.
Mayor Danielle Moore and Town Council members have said it’s essential that Palm Beach’s future water supply be treated with membrane filtration, a state-of-the-art technology that can remove all contaminants from water.
The town hired Kimley-Horn to conduct an ongoing water feasibility study in December 2019, and the Town Council and staff have been sorting through options.
They have boiled the alternatives down to two. One would be to strike a new water supply agreement with West Palm Beach, contingent upon construction of a facility to provide membrane treatment. The other would be to enter a deal with Lake Worth Beach, which has membrane treatment at its water plant, but not in sufficient amounts to supply Palm Beach.
Either option would be costly and would require years to fully implement.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s forum, panelists will respond to a limited number of written questions submitted by audience members.
The program is being sponsored by The Innovate, which will operate the new cultural arts center scheduled to open next year in the renovated Royal Poinciana Playhouse building.
RSVP to attend the forum HERE.
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