Lawmakers heard from experts at the Capitol Wednesday about the rising sea level threat facing South Florida communities. The waters off the coast of Key West, for example, have risen 9 inches in the last 100 years. They also heard advice about how to deal with it.
The meeting didn’t address the reasons why the sea is rising, just that it’s happening.
Assistant Palm Beach County Administrator Jon Van Arnam says just one foot of water will impact property values by billions of dollars in Southeast Florida.“We’re looking at a 50 year horizon of 9 to 24 inches of sea level rise and it’s exponentially increasing.”
Water managers are working to push more water into the Everglades and coastal canal systems. They’re also searching for alternative water sources and implementing conservation efforts to protect the drinking water supply.
Democratic Lake Worth Senator Jeff Clemens says lawmakers need to start appropriating dollars now.
“We’ve got to find a way as three delegations to convince the rest of the state that this is a potential economic disaster for the state of Florida if we don’t do something about this. There are infrastructure needs and plans that need to start now.”
The experts say communities can buy themselves at least four decades of protection just by raising sea walls.