March 27, 2019
Phoenix– Georgia Ackerman, Riverkeeper and Executive Director of Apalachicola Riverkeeper joined a panel presentation at the 10X Water Summit this week. 
The summit addressed the realities of water including increased demand, diminishing resources, more frequent inundation, and even questions of retreat pressed by such circumstances. In addition to case studies from across the 10X spectrum and the related science, special emphasis was placed on communication of complex and urgent issues to a public which is challenged to respond to an unprecedented flow of fact, fiction, and uncertainty.
Ackerman’s panel discussed water as both “boundless and bounded,” resulting in conflicts between geography and political jurisdictions seen within the 10X project area. Addressing these points of friction is an indicator of our ability to manage the larger challenges of climate change and the resultant social, economic and environmental impacts.
The Apalachichola-Chattahoochee-Flint basin drains an area of nearly 20,000 square miles, sustaining over 8 million people of 3 states. Ackerman shared the both successes and challenges of the ACF basin and emphasized the Waterkeeper Alliance model for protecting clean, swimmable, fishable water for all.
