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ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY, WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS alternative water supply, water resource development and reclaimed water/reuse funding through existing mechanisms and the creation new statewide funding programs to provide substantial and perennial funding to: enhance regional and local water resource and supply capacity development; provide adequate and reliable long-term funding for water and wastewater infrastructure; provide funding for alternative water supply development; provide funding for water quality protection and treatment of impaired waters; and establish a system for prioritizing water resource projects to ensure that funding is utilized in the most efficient manner available.

BACKGROUND: In 2005, the State Legislature enacted the Water Protection & Sustainability Program, requiring the regional water supply planning function of the water management districts to promote alternative water supply projects and enhance the state’s water supplies. At the beginning of each fiscal year revenues were to be distributed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection into the alternative water supply trust fund accounts created by each water management district. A total of $100 million was established in recurring funding. The funds were to be used to assist in funding alternative water supply construction costs selected by each District’s Governing Board for priority implementation. In 2022, $125 million from the Water Protection and Sustainability Task Force was provided for the Wastewater Grant Program.  

As water and wastewater infrastructure ages, it becomes necessary to repair or replace aged components of the water infrastructure framework, as well as to integrate innovative technologies and approaches to provide high quality water and wastewater service. In its most recent Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency identified significant infrastructure Repairs and Replacements (R+R) that will be required in the decades ahead. The assessment identified nearly $17 billion worth of upgrades needed in Florida. Provision of high quality water and wastewater service provides basic building blocks for economic sustainability and advancement. Municipal and County governments will require assistance from State and Federal sources to tackle these growing challenges.

The Department of Environmental Protection is currently administrating a Reclaimed Water Work Group that is developing recommendations on a number of policy and funding issues relating to reclaimed water and associated projects, including funding mechanisms to restore funding for alternative water supply and reuse projects.​

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BEACH AND INLET MANAGEMENT PROJECT APPROPRIATIONS

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS the inclusion of all Palm Beach County shore protection projects in the State’s Beach Management Funding Assistance Program.  For 2026, the Palm Beach County grant funding requests total $30,726,537 with a local match of $35,029,363.
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BACKGROUND: Florida’s beaches are the focus of our tourism industry and are critical in maintaining Florida’s tourism brand. Their role in providing upland property protection against storm damage makes them key components of our economy. The benefits to property values, tourism, and jobs by maintaining healthy beaches far outweigh the investment needed to combat coastal erosion. Seventy-one and a half (71.5) percent of beaches in Palm Beach County are designated as critically eroded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  State matching grants are a vital component of the funding required to maintain this essential infrastructure. The County is requesting inclusion of all Palm Beach County shore protection projects in the State’s Beach Management Funding Assistance Program. A table with the details of those requests follows.
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Shore protection through beach nourishment is the most effective and economical strategy to protect coastal infrastructure and the tourism-based economy of the State from regularly occurring extreme weather events. The USACE has abruptly implemented a new interpretation of policy guidelines for federally authorized shore protection projects that now requires non-federal sponsors to acquire perpetual construction easements (PCE’s) from 100% of the upland owners within a project footprint before construction can proceed. Property owners are reluctant to execute these easement agreements due to overly broad language, no assurance of project construction or maintenance and no termination clause in the event the federal authorization is revoked or lapses. The new interpretation of these policy guidelines effectively terminates federal participation in a number of historically successful Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) and future Flood Control and Coastal Emergency (FCCE) projects.  ​​

2026 Session Beach & Inlet Management Funding Requests

​​Project Name: Coral Cove Dune Restoration
Description: Construction and Monitoring
Funding Request: $3,001,667
Local Match: $3,001,667
Estimated Project Cost: $6,003,334​
​Project Name: Jupiter Inlet Management
Description: Construction
Funding Request: $3,202,695
Local Match: $3,202,695
Estimated Project Cost: $6,405,390
​Project Name: North County Comprehensive Shore Protection Project – Segment 2
Description: Design, Construction, and Monitoring
Funding Request: $3,821,618
Local Match: $3,821,618
Estimated Project Cost: $7,643,236
​Project Name: North County Comprehensive Shore Protection Project – Segment 3
Description: Design, Construction, and Monitoring
Funding Request: $5,525,062
Local Match: $5,525,062
Estimated Project Cost: $15,331,793 INCLUDES FEDERAL FUNDS
​Project Name: Singer Island Dune Restoration
Description: Design, Construction, and Monitoring
Funding Request: $1,699,931
Local Match: $1,359,945
Estimated Project Cost: $3,399,862
​Project Name: Lake Worth Inlet Management
Description: Design, Construction, and Monitoring
Funding Request: $1,890,000
Local Match: $1,890,000
Estimated Project Cost: $3,780,000
​Project Name: Mid-Town Beach Nourishment
Description: Design, Construction, and Monitoring
Funding Request: $3,164,935
Local Match: $3,441,065
Estimated Project Cost: $6,606,000 INCLUDES FEDERAL FUNDS
​Project Name: Phipps Ocean Park Beach Nourishment
Description: Construction
Funding Request: $7,558,200
Local Match: $11,821,800
Estimated Project Cost: $26,380,000 INCLUDES FEDERAL FUNDS
​Project Name: North Boca Raton Shore Protection Project
Description: Design and monitoring
Funding Request: $63,470
Local Match: $63,470
Estimated Project Cost: $242,000 INCLUDES FEDERAL FUNDS​
​Project Name: Central Boca Raton Shore Protection Project
Description: Design and monitoring
Funding Request: $79,074
Local Match: $107,926
Estimated Project Cost: $187,000​
​Project Name: South Boca Raton Shore Protection Project
Description: Design and monitoring
Funding Request: $126,385
Local Match: $200,615
Estimated Project Cost: $327,000​
​Project Name: Boca Raton Inlet Management
Description: Design, construction, and monitoring
Funding Request: $593,500
Local Match: $593,500
Estimated Project Cost: $1,187,000​
​TOTAL AMOUNTS
Funding Request: $30,726,537
Local Match: $35,029,363
Total Estimated Project Cost: $77,492,615 ​INCLUDES FEDERAL FUNDS​

EXPANSION OF RECLAIMED WATER

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS the legislative concepts proposed by the FWEAUC and concepts offered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other stakeholders that will promote project development and the continued effective and efficient use of reclaimed water throughout Palm Beach County.

BACKGROUND: As Florida continues to experience population growth and increasing demands on the water resources of the state, the efficient and effective utilization of reclaimed water is vital to expanding the water pie and providing for the increased impacts of our growth. Over the past few years, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Water Management Districts, industry groups including the Florida Water and Environment Association Utility Council (FWEAUC), and multiple stakeholder groups have engaged in several efforts to improve legislative and regulatory requirements regarding the oversight and funding for alternative water supply projects. These stakeholders are engaged in the Potable Reuse Commission, which is looking to incorporate legislative and regulatory language regarding potable reuse water into the existing frameworks utilized for reclaimed water. Additional policy concepts include the clarification of the applicability of impact offset and substitution credits to alternative water supply projects, incentivizing approaches that promote efficiency in the utilization of reclaimed water, and other measures that will allow for the utilization of reclaimed water in the best time, place and manner as suits a given geographic area and local government.

FLORIDA RECREATION DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS appropriations to fund the FRDAP Large Project Development list up to a maximum of $350,000 for each project, in addition to those on the Small Project Fund list up to a maximum of $100,000 each project.

Background: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection administers the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP). This program is a competitive grant program that provides financial assistance through grants to local governments for the acquisition and development of land for public outdoor recreation purposes. This grant program has two funding thresholds, the Large Project Fund provides grants of up to $200,000, and the Small Project Fund provides grants of up to $50,000. In the FY25-26 legislative budget, the program was left unfunded, adversely impacting outdoor recreation opportunities for Floridians and visitors. 


LAKE WORTH LAGOON INITIATIVE: $6,592,500

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS legislative funding for the 2026 priority list of ranked projects as established by the steering committee of the Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative.

The Lake Worth Lagoon Management Plan can be found at the Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative web page at www.lwli.org​.​

LOXAHATCHEE RIVER PRESERVATION INITIATIVE: $354,794​

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS legislative funding for the 2026 priority list of ranked projects as established by the Steering Committee of the LRPI.  

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SEPTIC TO SEWER CONVERSION

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS state funding assistance and grants to local governments, wastewater utilities and property owners to assist in implementing and expediting septic to sewer conversion projects to mitigate the impacts of excess nutrients on water bodies.

Background: There are 51,320 septic residential properties in Palm Beach County, 29,959 of which are within the PBC Water Utility Department service area.  Of those 29,959 properties, 12,906 are residential properties less than 1 acre. ​

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STRATEGIC POLICY AREAS REQUIRING SUSTAINED OVERSIGHT​



COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN PROJECTS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS efforts by the State of Florida, SFWMD, USACE, and FDEP to advance both interim and long-term Congressionally-authorized CERP projects within Palm Beach County that would benefit the Lake Worth Lagoon estuary and the Loxahatchee River, reduce potential flooding impacts, and increase the availability of water supplies. ​

Palm Beach County appreciates and SUPPORTS the continued funding of the C-51 Reservoir to increase water storage and reduce damaging flows to the Lake Worth Lagoon estuary. ​​​​

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CORAL REEF PROTECTION​

​Palm Beach County SUPPORTS continued efforts and dedicated, recurring funding for water quality and habitat monitoring within the Kristin Jacobs Coral Aquatic Preserve.

Palm Beach County OPPOSES any changes of the statewide turbidity criterion that could compromise critical shore protection efforts along the coastline without a comprehensive scientific understanding of the biological tolerances for coral species of concern.

Background: In 2017, a coral disease outbreak of unknown origin was found offshore of Miami-Dade County.  This disease has since spread through all of Florida’s Coral Reef and to reefs in the Caribbean.  With high rates of disease transmission and rapid mortality impacts, the disease has affected nearly 50 percent of Florida’s reef-building coral species including five listed under the Endangered Species Act.  This disease along with coral bleaching events that have been occurring annually since 2011 are just a sample of the many threats to our fragile reef ecosystems that support Florida’s fisheries and protect our coasts.


DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - LAND MANAGEMENT
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Palm Beach County SUPPORTS legislation that would help local governments fund vital land management activities within their Natural Area and Park properties. Such legislation may include, but is not limited to, adding land management to the types of activities funded by the Florida Communities Trust (Chapter 380, F.S.).

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS increased funding for the Local Trail Management Grant Program (aka Trail-Go) as established under F.S. 260.0145.

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS appropriations from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for environmental restoration and land acquisition projects that benefit both the environment and residents of Palm Beach County.  Such projects include, but are not limited to, those that: 1) restore, preserve and protect the Everglades and other South Florida ecosystems (Section 373.470, F.S.); 2) restore, preserve and protect the Lake Okeechobee watershed (Section 373.4595, F.S) , including the “downstream" Lake Worth Lagoon; 3) improve or protect water quality; 4) enhance flood protection; and/or 5) enhance water supplies.

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS inclusion of the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Plan (part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, as amended) and Lake Worth Lagoon (a regionally significant estuary) in legislation establishing dedicated funding sources for the Land Acquisition Trust Fund.  Applicable legislation may include, but is not limited to, Section 373.470, F. S. (Everglades Restoration); Section 373.4595, F.S. (Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program); and Subsections 373.4592(2)(j), F.S., and 373.4592(3), F.S. (Long-Term Plan).

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS the full funding of the Florida Forever Plan positively impacting Florida’s environmental sustainability and future generations of Floridians.​
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​​​DERELICT VESSELS

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS continued recurring appropriations to assist local governments in removing derelict vessels that degrade the marine environment and block the use of public shorelines, berthing facilities, docks, ramps and staging areas. ​​​


​MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASE FUNDING

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS increased state funding for mosquito control and the eradication of mosquito borne diseases.

BACKGROUND: Malaria reappeared in Florida in 2023 after a 20-year absence, giving new urgency to the preventative efforts of mosquito control programs across the state. This reminds us that even during calm periods between our endemic outbreaks of diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV) and St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) that the task of protecting residents from mosquito borne disease never stops. Every incidence of imported disease is an opportunity for that disease to gain a foothold in Palm Beach County, and the Mosquito Control Division strives to prevent that from happening through aggressive case investigations and proactive control efforts. Moreover, while nuisance mosquito control efforts lack the direct intention to control mosquito borne disease, the result is to diminish the potential for local mosquitoes to host those diseases. Continuing to embrace new technologies and tools to carry out this important function for the residents of Palm Beach County is crucial to this task.​​


​PETROLEUM STORAGE TANK COMPLIANCE VERIFICATION PROGRAM

Palm Beach County (PBC) SUPPORTS maintaining funding for the Petroleum Storage Tank Compliance Verification Program through Local Program contracts.

BACKGROUND: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) Division of Waste Management administers the program through Local Program contracts with the funding source coming from the Inland Protection Trust Fund. Since 1988, PBC has partnered with FDEP to inspect petroleum storage tank systems at registered fuel facilities and currently performs inspections in Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties.

The PBC Petroleum Storage Tank Compliance Verification Program provides the first line of defense for protecting the drinking water supplies by inspecting petroleum storage tank systems for leaks and maintenance concerns to prevent petroleum discharges and costly cleanup efforts by property owners. In PBC there are approximately 1,945 registered fuel facilities that operate 8,265 petroleum storage tank systems and the FDEP tasks PBC to inspect these facilities on an 18 to 36 month frequency. Many of these storage tank systems are decades old and are susceptible to failures and appropriate funding for the return to an annual inspection frequency would be recommended. ​


PETROLEUM RESTORATION PROGRAM

Palm Beach County (PBC) SUPPORTS maintaining funding for the Petroleum Restoration Program (PRP) through Local Program contracts.
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BACKGROUND: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) Division of Waste Management administers the PRP through Local Program contracts with the funding source coming from the Inland Protection Trust Fund. Since 1988, PBC has partnered with FDEP to provide technical and administrative oversight during the cleanup of reported petroleum discharges that occur at sites in PBC to ensure these efforts meet state standards.  Since 1985, there have been 2,592 reported petroleum discharges in PBC and 2,148 of those discharges have been cleaned up (closed or conditionally closed).
 
The PBC Petroleum Restoration Program team is committed to the cleanup of petroleum contamination in the soil and groundwater, protecting drinking water supplies, and supporting the redevelopment and reuse of properties that have been cleaned up.  ​​​

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​​WATER POSITION STATEMENTS​

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS all water policy efforts at the state-level and through the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) that will specifically and explicitly state the commitment to provide necessary water supply protection for Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach County SUPPORTS appropriations to provide for vital water quality improvement programs and projects, including funding for planning and monitoring, to address nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms, that impact the County’s lakes, canals, and estuaries. Septic to sewer conversions, improving storm water management systems, and innovative technologies to mitigate or cleanup harmful algal blooms are examples of projects that can reduce damaging freshwater discharges and improve the water quality of discharges to the Lake Worth Lagoon.  Additionally, Palm Beach County SUPPORTS legislation to provide for effective programs and projects to further address water quality impacts.​

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