Urgent Scenarios for Region's Water Outlook; Community Foundation April 27 Event...

Urgent Scenarios for Region's Water Outlook; Community Foundation April 27
Event to Eye Alternatives

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As South Florida experiences
its third driest season on record dating back to 1932, a new, independent
study funded by a grant from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and
Martin Counties lays out four water scenarios for the area's future - all of
them urgent.

The study, set for official release on Monday April 27 at 8:00 a.m. during a
breakfast conference of media, environmental organizations and local
government representatives at the Community Foundation's West Palm Beach
offices, questions: "Has the region passed a tipping point in which the wells
literally run dry and insufficient water is available to meet rising demands?"

Dr. Lance Gunderson, chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at Emory
University and co-author of the study, Envisioning Alternative Futures for
Water Resources in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, is slated to speak and will
be available to the media.

"This study, which was undertaken through a grant from our Environmental
Endowment Fund, casts a critical eye on the state of our area's water supply
and addresses the dwindling alternatives," Community Foundation President and
CEO Leslie Lilly said.

"Dry Wells" rank as number one among the four alarming scenarios that depict
"very different futures for water resources in Palm Beach and Martin
counties." Each will be discussed in depth during the study's presentation on
April 27. The study was co-authored by Stephen Light of Adaptive Strategies,
Inc.

In addition to water conservation, water quality issues will also be
discussed. Attendees at the Community Foundation breakfast conference will
also hear first hand about the world's first network of ORCA's Kilroy Water
Monitoring Systems, also funded in part by a grant from the foundation's
Environmental Endowment Fund. Dr. Edith "Edie" Widder of the Ocean Research
and Conservation Association will share the newest conservation tool being
developed by the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA).

Kilroy provides more accurate water quality data than conventional sampling
methods and is already being used to monitor water quality in the Indian River
Lagoon. "This collection of comprehensive data is critical to the success of
water conservation and protection. The Community Foundation is proud to be
among the funders of this important work," Lilly said.

According to South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the 2008-2009
South Florida dry season has become the third driest on record since 1932.
Water levels in its 16-county district are declining, and the stage is set for
drought conditions to worsen still further, as the driest dry season on
record, if adequate rain does not fall. Latest reports show the region has
reportedly received less than 30 percent of its normal rainfall this winter.
Water levels of Lake Okeechobee continue declining, while estuaries at the
mouths of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers are becoming too salty, and
Everglades marshes and Big Cypress swamps are evaporating away.

About the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties:

Since 1972, the Community Foundation has granted $74 million to nonprofit
organizations in the community in the areas of Arts and Culture, Community
Initiatives, Community/Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health
and Human Services, Human and Race Relations and Intergenerational Programs.
In addition, the Foundation has awarded more than $4.5 million in scholarships
to more than 1,200 local students. The Foundation awards funds and accepts
contributions in support of community initiatives, projects of special
interest, and permanent endowments. Income from endowments is used to make
further grants and award scholarships primarily in Palm Beach and Martin
counties. To learn more, visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org

The Foundation's offices are located at 700 South Dixie Highway in West Palm
Beach.

About the Community Foundation's Environmental Endowment Fund

The Community Foundation uses its Environmental Endowment Fund to address
issues related to the environment. The fund was created to address programs
that seek to preserve and improve the area's watersheds, habitat, natural
resources and environment. The Environmental Endowment Fund has supported
production of a documentary film, TheIndian River Lagoon: Gateway to Saving
the Everglades, along with educational programs and oyster-reseeding projects.
It has provided grants to nonprofit organizations committed to protecting our
environment. To learn more about the Environmental Endowment Fund please visit
www.yourcommunityfoundation.org/environment.

About Dr. Lance Gunderson:

Dr. Gunderson, a Florida native, has chaired the Department of Environmental
Studies at Emory University since 1999. He has served as the executive
director of the Resilience Network, as Vice Chair of the Resilience Alliance
and on the Science Advisory Board of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research
Center, and Chair of the National Academy of Sciences, National Research
Council Committee on Ecological Impacts of Road Density. He is also Co-Editor
in Chief of the journal Ecology and Society (www.ecologyandsociety.org) which
reports on integrative science for resilience and sustainability. In 2007 he
was named a Beijer Fellow, of the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics
Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, (www.beijer.kva.se).

CONTACT:

Kate Parmelee
Director of Communications and Marketing
Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
(561) 659-6800 ext. 121/kparmelee@cfpbmc.org

Mark Hopkinson
NewsMark Public Relations
(561) 852-5767
mhopkinson@newsmarkpr.com

SOURCE Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties

Kate Parmelee, Director of Communications and Marketing, Community Foundation
for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, +1-561-659-6800 ext. 121,
kparmelee@cfpbmc.org; Mark Hopkinson, NewsMark Public Relations,
+1-561-852-5767, mhopkinson@newsmarkpr.com