County near limit on stormwater runoff

I read with interest the front-page Palm Beach Post article “Brown water fouls county beaches” (Friday). Unfortunately, this is not a new story.

For several decades, thousands of fishermen, divers, surfers, and boaters have been sounding the alarm on the environmental impacts of stormwater run- off and the resulting freshwater discharges.

If county and municipal leaders are interested in solving this problem then they should re-examine the positions they take when considering development proposals, land use changes and zoning amendments. No amount of environmental mitigation can keep pace with the massive projects proposed in Palm Beach County. We continue to pave over green space and drain the land to accommodate large-scale developments within our coastal watershed that have harmful consequences to the Lake Worth Lagoon and beyond. Lake Okeechobee water is not the culprit in Palm Beach County; it is simply too many rooftops, roadways and parking lots.

Community leaders are often influenced by the promise of an increased tax base and job creation without accurately factoring in the long-term costs associated with these projects like additional public services, impacts to infrastructure, increased traffic congestion and environmental issues like stormwater runoff.

What about the jobs that are supported by clean water and a healthy ecosystem? What about the impacts on our quality of life? Growth is a given, but we could be approving far more sustainable projects.

There is a carrying capacity to every parcel of land and Palm Beach County is nearing its threshold. Lip service and letters to the governor from our leaders are all well and good, but it is their votes that matter.

Judging from history, we can expect more brown water fouling our beaches. TOM TWYFORD, NORTH PALM BEACH