Renew the Savings Clause to protect the water supply

COVID-19 still wreaks havoc in Florida, but South Floridians are engaged in a battle for our health and safety on another front— water scarcity. While most residents do notworry about their water supply as long as they get water when they turn on their tap, it is not guaranteed. On Thursday, Sept. 24, a subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) andwater management in Florida. The hearing was held as lawmakers are considering the Water Resources Development Act( W RD A ).

U.S Rep. Brian Mastw ants to pass legislation in the WRDA thatwould drastically alter Lake Okeechobee’s regulation schedule in an attempt to curb toxic algae blooms in our coastal estuaries. Mast’s proposalwould direct the Army Corps of Engineers to drain Lake Okeechobee’s crucial water supply to unprecedented low depths during the dry season. This would be a major departure from the Savings Clause, the provision in the WRDA that has safeguarded South Florida’s water supply for 20 years.

The continued debate surrounding the management of our water and its impact on our health and safety is important to all of us. As these crucial conversations happen remotely from Washington, D.C., Tallahassee and our regional water management district, it is important to find solutions to environmental problems that benefit all citizens and communities, not just the one with the loudest political voice.

Originally enacted in 2000, CERP remains the primary vehicle for guaranteeing that our state’s greatest natural treasure remains viable for generations to come. CERP’s implementation was approved by the passage of federal legislation known as the Water Resources Development Act. This legislation was significant for a number of reasons. First, it provided baseline protections to South Florida’s water supply. Lawmakers in 2000 recognized the needs ofwater users in the area— most critically the more than 6 million residents in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Second, the passage of WRDA put politics aside and showed that it’s possible to do two big things at once — restore the Everglades while meeting all of the water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood control.

Unfortunately, politics has disrupted both sensibility and science in 2020. Instead of uniting to do big things, it has left us divided on howto create a safer environmental future. But nowis the worst possible time to ignore sound water management practices.

Water is more essential than ever, not only for everyday living but for life-saving hygiene. It’s necessary for our recovering businesses and the viability of our drinkingwater supply.

Politicians like Brian Mast are good at creating simplified talking points to address complex issues, but they fail to understand larger consequences beyond the boundaries of their own districts. Mast has loudly proclaimed that water-users permit rights should end when they infringe on the health and safety of others. That sounds reasonable but is simply untrue and not supported by science. Furthermore, it ignores the fact that taking away the rights of certain permitted water users would create a health and safety emergency of its own. South Florida’s utilities (which provide drinkingwater), municipalities and tribal nations depend onwater permits to ensure they have enough water to supply South Florida’s growing population. If their water permits are not honored, they run the risk of saltwater intrusion, whichwould corrupt our coastal wells used for drinkingwater, emergency management and more.

While these consequences are inconvenient truths that often escape the narrow focus of some, they remain real possibilities for the rest of us who live in communities along the coast.