Page 1 - PGA Community News - September '23

VOL. 33 NO. 9
Commissioner’s Update
Recycling Right
By Commissioner
Maria Marino
The mission of the Solid
Waste Authority (SWA),
for which I serve as vice
chair, is to manage the
materials discarded by
residents and businesses
of Palm Beach County
according to legislative
mandate and following
applicable local, state and
federal ordinances, regulations and laws.
Northern Notes
Culverts – Integral Parts Of
A Stormwater System
By Katie Roundtree,
Director of Finance and
Administration, Northern
Palm Beach County
Improvement District
Cul ve rt s a re a n
integral part of stormwater
infrastructure across
Florida. These often-hidden
structures have shaped
Florida’s landscape by
creating areas for growth
and development. But what is a culvert? Where are they?
What do they do? In this article we will dive into the world of
culverts and how they relate to Northern Palm Beach County
Improvement District’s abilities to provide exceptional
services to the communities we manage.
Culverts are similar to the water pipes used to provide
water to a house. Pipes
underground allow water
to be channeled from a
water source into your
home or garden. Or
another example, just like
our bodies, the stormwater
system has arteries, a heart,
and flow. Our culverts are
the veins and pump stations
are the hearts. If our veins
are clogged our heart works
harder and puts stress on
the rest of our system. The
FAX 561-624-9088 • E-MAIL canpga@yahoo.com SEPTEMBER 2023
Our goal is to reduce the amount highly successful residential and commercial recycling
of waste that goes to landfills for programs, and the performance of waste-to-energy
disposal, and provide services facilities in recovering metals and energy from waste.
that are environmentally Further contributing to this success was the performance
responsible and fiscally sound. of permitted partners, for-profit, and not-for-profit entities
An important part of meeting who recovered and put yard waste, construction and
that goal is our recycling demolition debris, and concrete into beneficial use.
program. This involves separating It has been our mission at SWA over the years to
materials from the waste stream, preserve landfill capacity, recover valuable resources, and
either at the source or by recovering materials from mixed manage the county’s waste right here. Most importantly,
waste prior to disposal, and turning those materials into thanks goes to the residents and businesses of Palm
commodities. Beach County for supporting what we do at SWA, and
Palm Beach County achieved the highest recycling for “recycling right.”
rate of Florida’s 67 counties for calendar year 2022, at an Please contact me if I can assist you at (561) 355-2201
overall recycling rate of 80 percent. This is a result of the or by email at mmarino@pbcgov.org.
same concept applies to culverts. Culverts allow stormwater to years. However, due to stressors such as environmental
Culverts are designed with life spans of 30 to 100
move underground from place to place. They can connect one
lake to another or road drains to a lake. They can move water conditions and increased usage, these systems can fail
from one location to another to dry out an area for development causing contamination, leaks or even sinkholes. So how
or ensure safe travel along roadways. do we stop these potential issues? Maintenance is key!
Several types of culverts exist and are widely used today, Regular inspections and cleaning help avoid disruption
such as box culverts, arch culverts, and bridge culverts to or costly repairs.
name a few. The most commonly used are pipe culverts. Used The staff at Northern work diligently to provide routine
for drainage or electrical routing, these tunnel-like structures inspections and maintenance to our drainage systems.
are buried alongside or underneath roadways. Pipes are made Inspections can be performed using cameras atop remote
using various materials such as metal, concrete or plastic and operated vehicles (ROV) or by trained divers. If a threat
vary in length and diameter. to the lifespan and operation of the culvert is found, it
Many years ago, most of the existing drainage systems can be remediated with cleaning or repairing.
utilized CMP (corrugated metal pipe). However, due to So, what can we do to help our communities preserve
fluctuating water levels these pipes often succumb to culvert systems? Keep storm drains free of debris, refrain
corrosion. To combat this issue, CMP pipes are replaced from dumping any chemicals into the waterways and most
with HDPE (high density polyethylene), a plastic designed important of all, report any areas of concern to the district.
to be chemical and erosion resistant, or RCP (reinforced Together, we can ensure our stormwater infrastructure
concrete) in a load-bearing capacity, for example under will remain intact for years to come.
roads with heavy traffic. HDPE or concrete culverts are Special thanks to our Operations Supervisor –
the best options for drainage purposes, due to their cost- Stormwater Greg Sale for his contributions to this article
effectiveness and longevity. and Kim Morgan, for drafting the article.
Fall is Coming!
First Day of Autumn
September 23