Big issue out in Wellington where people have appropriated canal rights-of-way and easements for their own use and pleasure. After years of not being maintained, they are now forced to remove many improvement property owners and residents have placed within those boundaries thinking, wrongly, that it was their land. They are finding out now that it wasn't. Click title for link.
The village’s 88 miles of canals were first dug more than 30 years ago, but until five years ago, little maintenance was done on them. There has also been little policing of the village’s right-of-way along the canal bank, where residents planted trees and built fences that would otherwise be prohibited.
Of the 115 homes along the three canals in Eastwood, 41 properties have fences or vegetation too close to the canal — and in some cases, on top of major water mains.
Village officials urged concerned residents to look beyond their personal feelings to potentially greater consequences. The three canals in Eastwood provide drainage for more than 1,000 homes across 530 acres — all of which could be affected if the canals are blocked by debris.
“I would not be doing this if I didn’t think it was the right thing for the village,” [Wellington Public Works Director Mitch] Fleury said.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
