Our lagoon is a precious natural resource and when I was a teacher, my 4th graders would take a fieldtrip to study the flora and fauna in and around the lagoon to understand how everything is connected and how our actions can either improve or harm the environment. West Melbourne is almost done building its own water plant (January 2027), which will help with our water independence and provide better quality water to our residents. With new infrastructure, this hopefully also translates to lesser impact on the environment.
During the past four years, I’ve advocated for and worked with our state representatives to secure more than $1M in funding for city stormwater and flood mitigation projects so we can be proactive about addressing flooding concerns that impact both the environment and residents. This work isn’t done and with state appropriations being decreased recently, it will require greater advocacy to ensure important project requests are funded.
Additionally, I want to continue supporting the reuse water program and new scrubbers that will be used to address the high levels of nitrates being washed into our sewers and canals, which eventually enter the lagoon and harm the environment. Some of our houses are older and using and have septic systems that are causing runoff so I am encouraging people to participate in the septic-to-sewer conversions. By drilling wells and utilizing new equipment in the water plant, the runoff that goes into the lagoon should be decreased, as well as being a solid investment for the city’s future.
