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River Partners Commemorate Anniversary of Accord Signing
Jacksonville, Fla. (July 27, 2007) – Mayor John Peyton, the St. Johns River Water Management District (District), JEA, the city’s Water and Sewer Expansion Authority (WSEA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protect (DEP) today commemorated the anniversary of the signing of The River Accord: A Partnership for the St. Johns.
One year ago, the group announced the historic partnership and commitment to invest $700 million during the next 10 years to improve the health of the St. Johns River’s lower basin – an area extending 2,750 square miles from Putnam County through Jacksonville to the Atlantic Ocean.
“The St. Johns River defines Jacksonville’s history, culture, economy, character, and, ultimately, its future,” said Mayor Peyton. “While I am proud of the important progress we’ve made in restoring the river during the past year, countless years of neglect have taken their toll on its health. I look forward to the continued efforts of this historic partnership as we work to make a meaningful difference for our river.”
Since launching the initiative, the partners have moved forward collectively and individually and sought funding for the Accord’s four main provisions, which are to improve water quality, monitor and reduce sedimentation, and improve access to this tremendous natural resource while measuring and tracking program accountability.
In its role as a partner in the Accord, the DEP awarded two low-interest loans to JEA in October, totaling almost $2 million, to mitigate the costs for reclaimed water transmission lines and re-pump/storage facilities for reuse. DEP followed this by granting two additional low-interest loans to the Clay County Utility Authority, totaling more than $2 million, for design and engineering costs related to wastewater treatment facility upgrades.
"This partnership is a true example of how we can work together to reduce nutrients in the St. Johns River,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “Ongoing monitoring and testing of water quality in the river and its tributaries, improvements at wastewater treatment plants, building pipelines to reuse treated wastewater and capturing and treating stormwater before it enters the river are all part of the necessary steps to improve water quality.”
The City of Jacksonville is working on a septic tank ordinance that will enable inspection and phase-out of non-functioning septic tanks while incorporating enhanced maintenance requirements for existing systems. The city has also initiated the effort to produce a River Report Card, a project to provide an independent evaluation of the health and restoration progress of the Lower St. Johns River Basin. A team of professors from the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University is currently working to compile data that will be measured over time.
In keeping with the Accord’s goals, JEA has developed guidelines to assess area tributaries to the St. Johns River for recent impacts from human waste, and the city has continued its sampling efforts. The River Run program is a monthly sampling event at 10 stations in the mainstem of the St. Johns River that monitors water quality trends for nutrients and their impacts. In addition to the River Run, approximately 100 sites along Jacksonville tributaries are monitored quarterly for a variety of water quality indicators, including dissolved oxygen and fecal coliform bacteria.
The City of Jacksonville continues to enforce against improper sediment control practices at more than 300 construction sites. Inspections are conducted weekly to dentify any improper practices. In addition, city government is working closely with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the DEP to finalize an ordinance regarding proper use and application of fertilizers in Duval County.
The efforts of the River Accord partners also received a tremendous boost this year from Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature’s appropriation of $12 million to assist in the restoration of the lower basin of the St. Johns. The money will be utilized by the WSEA as it continues efforts to eliminate failing septic tanks across Jacksonville.
The WSEA was also awarded $800,000 from the state and $2 million from the District to fund a septic tank elimination project in Jacksonville’s Lincoln Villas area, one of 22 areas within Duval County that has been identified as containing failing septic tanks.
“The WSEA is grateful for the support and funding we have received,” said Fred Odom, executive director of the WSEA. “The dollars will be put to the highest and best use, and will allow us to make great strides in improving the health of the St. Johns River as we continue our efforts to eliminate failing septic tanks in Duval County.”
JEA has made significant improvements to its wastewater treatment facilities and increased its capacity for water reuse. During the last year, JEA completed improvements on a regional wastewater treatment plant and continued construction and improvements to another
facility, which will ultimately result in both locations achieving Advanced Nutrient Removal. These actions, along with continued operational improvements, have resulted in the removal of approximately 70 tons of nitrogen per year from the river.
The JEA’s improvements to its reuse capacity have, to date, increased from 10 mgd (million gallons per day) to more than 17 mgd. JEA has also begun the process of implementing the same goal at a third facility, and has already decommissioned two of the six remaining old technology plants.
Since the Accord was signed last year, the St. Johns River Water Management District has executed contracts totaling $31.7 million to launch projects that will reduce wastewater discharges to the lower St. Johns River and to expand the use of reclaimed water. Another $37 million in contracts will be signed by the end of August.
These contracts represent the District’s cost-share commitment toward 19 near-term reuse and wastewater treatment plant upgrade projects. Additional longer term projects are being identified, and funding for these efforts will be considered in coming years.
“Reclaimed water projects will save fresh drinkable groundwater for future use in homes and businesses, delay the need to develop alternative drinking water supplies, and improve the health of our river,” said District Governing Board Chairman David Graham. “It also is a safe, environmentally responsible alternative to wastewater disposal in the river.”
The funding for these projects is part of the District’s commitment to spend up to $150 million for reuse cost-sharing projects over the next decade in the River Accord restoration partnership.
“We thank the city of Jacksonville for its leadership and cooperation to move the Accord forward,” said Graham. “We acknowledge and greatly appreciate the commitment from the reuse initiative’s local partners — JEA, Clay County Utility Authority, the cities of Atlantic Beach, Green Cove Springs, Jacksonville Beach and Palatka, the town of Orange Park, and the U.S. Navy at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.”
The District’s longer-range vision is to move an additional 51 mgd of wastewater to beneficial reuse through larger regional projects. These regional projects are being determined cooperatively by JEA, Clay County, St. Johns County and the District.
More information on the River Accord and the program initiatives is available on the city’s website, www.coj.net.
JEA is the eighth largest community owned electric utility in the United States, providing electric, water and sewer service to more than 875,000 accounts in northeast Florida.
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