FAU Study re Effects of Sea Level Rise on SE Florida Water System Receives Media Coverage

Fred Grimm’s columns appeared on October 22nd and 26th on the Miami Herald website and in the print edition the following days in response to the October 19th release by FAU if a Summary Report on its study on SE Florida’s Resilient Water Resources (link: http://www.ces.fau.edu/files/projects/climate_change/SE_Florida_Resilient_Water_FAU2011.pdf) The release of this report coincided with with the 21st Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists held this week Miami’s Intercontinental Hotel. I was also a guest speaker at the SEJ Conference’s seminar and tour on Sea Level Rise on October 20th. The press release and conference presentation resulted in extensive media coverage in Southeast Florida’s newspapers and a TV newscast on WPTV-5 in West Palm Beach.

Grimm’s column is copied below and the links to these articles are listed as follows:
1. Miami Herald, Fred Grimm’s column, October 22, 2011 entitled Sea levels will rise, washing away climate deniers,
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/22/v-print/2467017/sea-levels-will-rise-washing-away.html

2. Miami Herald, Fred Grimm’s column, October 26, 2011 entitled For some South Florida cities, rising seas will mean rising sewage,
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/26/2473416/for-some-south-florida-cities.html#ixzz1cBU0iLqT

3. Sun-Sentinel, David Fleshler article, October 20, 2011, entitled Study: Rising sea levels will hit hard in South Florida
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-10-20/news/fl-water-climate-20111020_1_sea-level-rise-sea-levels-global-warming

4. South Florida Business Journal, Paul Brinkmann article, October 19, 2011, Study: Rising seas will hit S. Florida water bills
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/10/19/FAU-climate-change-Florida-sea-level.html

5. WPTV-5 West Palm Beach, Evan Axelbank news story, Study: Climate change threat grows in South Florida [VIDEO]

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_s_palm_beach_county/boca_raton/fau-study-says-the-rising-sea-levels-threaten-south-florida

Sea Level Rise will have Significant Effects on South Florida's Water Systems

Posted: 10/19/2011

Last Updated: 18 hours and 35 minutes ago
By: Evan Axelbank

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The system is simple: stormwater is collected in Palm Beach County's 1,600 miles of canal.

[The following contains excerpts from the news broadcast]

The drainage keeps neighborhoods dry as the water flows through floodgates and into the Atlantic. "This system has been very effective," said Barry Heimlich, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University. But scientists at FAU say the system is on its last legs. A report released Wednesday says global warming will cause sea levels in South Florida to rise up to seven inches in 20 years. "Serious flooding during heavy rain events like the kind of rainfall we've been having," said Heimlich. And even worse, Heimlich said fixing the problem won't be free. Scientists expect that the gates will have to be replaced with bigger ones that have pumps, a huge undertaking when you consider that there are dozens in South Florida. "A big challenge is where is this money going to come from? For just the drainage system, we are going to need a billion and a quarter dollars over the next 40 years," said Heimlich. South Florida - in just 20 years - could be underwater every time it rains, if the reengineering doesn't start soon. "We can all be ostriches and keep our head in the sand and not see what's coming. But here in South Florida, if we do that, our heads are going to get wet," said Heimlich. Scientists at FAU started this study in 2009 at the request of a group in Washington, The Bipartisan Policy Center.

Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_s_palm_beach_county/boca_raton/fau-study-says-the-rising-sea-levels-threaten-south-florida#ixzz1bPiarYQ3

Sea level rise threatens SE Florida water resources

 A research study I led at Florida Atlantic University presents the effects of sea level rise and changes in weather patterns on Southeast Florida’s water supply and stormwater drainage systems. It concludes that as little as 3” to 9” of sea level rise will increase saltwater contamination of our drinking water, and it will reduce the capacity of our stormwater drainage systems by 30% to 70%. And, there is a 95% probability that sea level rise will exceed 3” within the next 20 to 30 years, and by more than 9” within the next 50-60 years. The new Summary Report can be downloaded at:
http://www.ces.fau.edu/files/projects/climate_change/SE_Florida_Resilient_Water_FAU2011.pdf
The detailed reports can be downloaded at:
http://www.ces.fau.edu/files/projects/climate_change/SE_Florida_Resilient_Water_Resources.pdf
and
http://www.ces.fau.edu/files/projects/climate_change/PompanoBeachWater_CaseStudy.pdf