River Rising: A Town Hall Series by the St. Johns Riverkeeper and Greenscape

Posted on October 21, 2018 By Editor

Meet & Greet @ 6 p.m.  and Town Hall @ 6:30 p.m.

Panelists include:

• Lisa Rinaman St. Johns Riverkeeper (Moderator)
• Nate Monroe and Christopher Hong, Reporters of Florida Times-Union “As the Ocean Creeps In” special report.
• Dr. Quinton White, Executive Director of Marine Science Research Institute, Jacksonville University
• Richard Leon, City of Jacksonville, Urban Forestry Manager

Background:

Recently, the Florida Times-Union published, As the Ocean Creeps In, an excellent special report about how sea level rise and a century of dredging the river have made Jacksonville more vulnerable to storm surge and flooding.

A deeper and more efficient channel, along with an increasing rate of sea level rise, has allowed saltwater to move farther up the St. Johns, bringing the ocean to our doorstep. This has resulted in higher salinity, water levels and storm surge in our river and greater risk from flooding to our homes, businesses, and public infrastructure.   The current plan to dredge the St. Johns an additional 7 feet deeper will only make these problems worse.

Unfortunately, very little is being done by City leaders to protect our river and prepare and fortify our community for a future of rising waters – a reality that we must face, with or without dredging.

As a result, St. Johns RIVERKEEPER launched a series of community town hall meetings to (1) raise awareness about the impacts of dredging and rising waters, (2) provide a platform for citizens to share their concerns, (3) discuss how to become a more resilient community, and (4) urge our City leaders asking for action to address the flooding risk and infrastructure needed to better protect our river and our neighborhoods.

The San Marco Town Hall will also focus on using trees and green infrastructure as a strategy to create a more resilient city.