Palm Beach gets its water from the City of West Palm Beach. In 1999, the Town signed a 30 year agreement to purchase water from the City. Palm Beach is West Palm Beach’s biggest customer. West Palm Beach also owns the Town’s water delivery system, i.e. the pipes under Palm Beach roadways. In the agreement, West Palm Beach agrees to provide high quality water to Town residents and systematically repair the aging pipes on the island.
In 2008, poor water quality issues caused residents to call for water independence. Town of Palm Beach officials entered into discussions with West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, and the South Florida Water Management District. Various options were explored including the construction of a reverse osmosis plant for Palm Beach.
At the Town Council president’s request, the Civic Association conducted a study of water usage among Palm Beach residents. The Association also explored creative water conservation measures and introduced Palm Beachers to state-of-the-art “smart irrigation” systems that result in major savings.
West Palm Beach has undertaken an aggressive program to upgrade and improve its water system. The Town of Palm Beach is working closely with the West Palm Water Department to ensure that the interests of Palm Beach residents are a fundamental part of the planned upgrades.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
Civic Association members are encouraged to comment on issues. These comments can be read by any visitor to our website but only members can comment at this time.
If you are a member of the Civic Association, enter your email address that you have given to the Civic Association and a password will be sent automatically to your email inbox. Once you have the password, you can enter comments on any Issue page. Return to the screen below and enter your email and the new password that was sent to you.
The Civic Association encourages thoughtful and civil viewpoints expressed about all sides of an issue. We do not accept anonymous or inappropriate comments. We will delete them. If you see such comments, please report them to us at MikeBrown@PalmBeachCivic.org
Sample Viewpoints:
#1: Palm Beach is too dependent on West Palm Beach for its water needs. The Town should take steps to become water independent.
#2: The current water contract locks in the Town as a West Palm Beach water customer until 2020. Palm Beach is West Palm Beach’s biggest customer and, as such, should negotiate a better deal to ensure quality water and reliable delivery for Palm Beach residents.
#3: The Town should build its own water plant.
#4: The water business is complicated and costly. Environmental permitting is difficult and outside authorities regulate everything from of water quantity to water quality. Building a new facility is not the best way to become water independent.
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