Did You Know: Fun Facts About Grassy Waters Preserve

From City of West Palm Beach:

July 2, 2020

Of the more than 326 trillion gallons of water on Earth, Grassy Waters hosts on average 20,020,285,440 gallons of water. The massive weight of the freshwater sitting on top of Grassy Waters would weigh 83,484,590 tons, which is the equivalent of 823.7 fully equipped & loaded Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers including 5,000 crew members and all the provisions to provide for crew’s food and medical needs. In the hydrologic cycle, water evaporates from the wetlands in Grassy Waters and joins the 37.5 million-billion gallons of water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is amazing to think that water molecules from Grassy may eventually rise into the atmosphere and fall as rain in Africa. Runoff from the African rain may drain into the Atlantic Ocean and circulate back and fall as rain in West Palm.

From space, the Earth might appear to have an seem like it has abundance of water, but in fact, less than 1 percent is available for human use. The rest is either salt water found in oceans, freshwater frozen in the polar ice caps, or too inaccessible for practical usage. In other words, if all the world’s water were to fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about 1 tablespoon. While population and demand on freshwater resources are increasing, supply will always remain constant. And though the water cycle continuously returns water to Earth, it is not always returned to the same place, or in the same quantity and quality.

Each of us can take a step towards safeguarding our water for future generations by fixing leaks in our home, connecting a rain barrel to our gutter, or installing a low flow toilet. The City of West Palm Beach’s Office of Sustainability offers many programs where you can learn more about conserving water in your home.

Grassy Waters Preserve is located at 8264 Northlake Blvd. in the City of West Palm Beach. Grassy Waters serves as the drinking water supply source for West Pam Beach, which provides water to the Town of Palm Beach and the Town of South Palm Beach. For more information on Grassy Waters Preserve public programs available under the COVID-19 safety guidelines, call (561) 804-4895 (TTY: 800-955-8771) or visit: https://www.wpb.org/government/public-utilities/grassy-waters-preserve/public-program-calendar .

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.