- About
- 2021.02.17 JEA Announces New Leadership Team
- 2021.03.11 JEA Receives First Place Safety Award from Florida Municipal Electric Association
- 2021.06.15 JEA Names Theodore B. Phillips Chief Financial Officer
- 2021.07.13 JEA Announces New COO and VP of Financial Services
- 2021.08.17 JEA Builds Out Leadership Team with Hiring of Chief External Affairs Officer
- 2021.09.15 JEA Names New Chief Information Officer, VP of Technical Services
- 2021.09.30 Ricky Erixton, JEA Vice President of Electric Systems, Named to SERC Reliability Board of Directors
- 2021.09.30 Ricardo “Rick” Morales III Appointed to JEA Board of Directors
- 2021.11.03 JEA Receives Statewide Recognition for Programs that Build Community
- 2022.01.06 JEA Names its First Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- 2022.01.07 JEA Reducing Carbon Emissions with Closure of Plant Scherer Coal-fired Unit
- 2022.01.17 Statement on Holiday Road Sewer Overflow
- 2022.01.27 JEA Names Mark Stultz Vice President, Communications
- 2022.02.11 JEA Honored as Outstanding Utility by Florida Urban Forestry Council
- 2022.04.08 Steven Selders Promoted to JEA Vice President, Application Delivery and Enterprise Architecture
- 2022.04.26 JEA Managing Director & CEO Jay Stowe, Appointed to Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council
- 2022.06.01 JEA Partnering with Customers to be Ready for 2022 Hurricane Season
- 2022.06.08 JEA Announces Next Generation of Customer Experience Delivery
- 2022.06.13 JEA Presents Environmental Stewardship Award to Evoqua Water Technologies
- 2022.07.26 JEA to Suspend Electric, Water Disconnections During Peak of Summer Heat
- 2022.08.27 Precautionary Boil Water Advisory Remains in Effect for Sandalwood Area as JEA Continues Testing
- 2022.08.28 JEA Lifts Boil Water Advisory for Sandalwood Area
- 2022.09.26 JEA Prepares for Hurricane Ian, Response Procedures in Place
- 2022.09.27 JEA Prepared to Respond to Hurricane Ian Impacts
- 2022.09.28 JEA Welcomes Mutual Aid Response to Hurricane Ian
- 2022.09.29 JEA Crews Restoring Power Throughout Jacksonville
- 2022.10.03 JEA Names Pedro Melendez Vice President, Planning, Engineering & Construction
- 2022.10.20 JEA Honors Local Agency Partners for Their Work in the Community
- 2022.11.04 JEA Receives Statewide Recognition for Community Work in Northeast Florida
- 2022.11.08 JEA Prepares for Subtropical Storm Nicole
- 2022.11.11 All Storm Restorations Continue Today; JEA to Lift Limited Emergency Operations
- 2022.12.12 JEA Women's, Men's Teams Win Top Honors at Statewide Water Competition
- 2022.12.20 JEA Offers Tips in Advance of Severe Cold Weather
- 2022.12.24 JEA Offers Tips During Severe Cold Weather
- 2023.01.10 JEA Receives Statewide Recognition for Mutual Aid Work
- 2023.03.06 JEA Receives Statewide Recognition for Safety
- 2023.03.07 New JEA HQ Customer Center to Open April 10
- 2023.04.06 JEA Lineworkers Earn Top Honors at International Lineman’s Rodeo
- 2023.04.25 Community Invited to May 25 Public Forum on Northeast Florida’s Energy Future
- 2023.05.01 JEA Receives Recognition for Commitment to Urban Tree Management
- 2023.05.18 JEA's Long-Range Clean Energy Plan Available to Public
- 2023.05.26 JEA Ready for 2023 Hurricane Season, Offers Tips to Help Customers Prepare
- 2023.06.05 Helen Materazzi Named JEA Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness
- 2023.06.14 JEA Upgrading Water Meters for All Customers
- 2023.06.15 JEA Crews Heading to Tallahassee to Assist with Storm Restoration
- 2023.06.26 JEA Presents Environmental Stewardship Award to 29 Local Companies
- 2023.07.14 JEA Launches Fleet Vehicle Electrification Program
- 2023.08.22 JEA Issues Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for South Philips Highway and Nocatee Area, Encourages All Customers to Conserve
- 2023.08.22 Chief Human Resources Officer, VyStar Credit Union
- 2023.08.23 Precautionary Boil Water Advisory Remains in Effect for South Philips Highway, Nocatee Area, JEA Continues to Encourage All Customers to Conserve
- 2023.08.24 JEA Lifts Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for South Philips Highway, Nocatee Area
- 2023.08.28 JEA Prepares for Tropical Storm Idalia Encourages Customers to Be Ready
- 2023.08.30 JEA Responding to Customers Due to Hurricane Idalia
- 2023.11.15 JEA Receives Top Ranking in 2023 Business Satisfaction Survey by J.D. Power
- 2023.11.07 JEA Receives Statewide Recognition for Programs That Enhance the Community
- 2023.11.20 Juli Crawford Promoted to JEA Vice President, Enterprise Strategy & Planning
- 2023.11.28 JEA and UNF Advance Sustainable Solutions at Lab Opening
- History
- Real Estate Services
- Benefits of Public Utilities
- Letter from Managing Director and CEO
- Una carta de nuestro director ejecutivo
- Strategic Focus and Core Values
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- Community Impact
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- About
- Wastewater
- What Not to Flush
What Not to Flush
JEA’s Wastewater Treatment System is designed to dispose of human waste and toilet paper only. Many other commonly flushed items cause damage to the pipes in your home or business, as well as to JEA’s wastewater collection system and the treatment process. Flushing the wrong things can also lead to the formation of what are called fatbergs, large coagulations of non-biodegradable sewage consisting of wipes, grease, and other items not meant to be flushed.

Facts About Fatbergs
Fatbergs can lead to sewage backups, sewer overflows and groundwater/surface water contamination, which can be harmful to human health and our environment. They also can damage JEA's wastewater treatment equipment and increase repair costs, which in turn could affect customer rates.
You can help to prevent fatbergs in the wastewater system by avoiding flushing any of the items described below.
Many items that are labeled “flushable” or “disposable” are actually not safe to flush.
Top 10 Things to Not Flush or Put Down the Drain
- Baby Wipes
- Fats, Oils, and Grease
- Food/Trash/Non-Biodegradables
- Cleaning Products
- Pads/Rags/Cloth/Chemicals/Disposable Gloves
- Cotton Balls/Q-tips/Dental Floss
- Disposable Diapers
- Feminine Products (including applicators)
- Hair/Hair Weave
- Medications/Pharmaceuticals/Syringes/Needles
- Paper Towels/Tissues/Plastic Bags
Hazardous/toxic chemicals introduced into the sanitary sewer system interfere with the wastewater treatment process.
Baby Wipes
When you flush a baby wipe down the toilet, you are creating a situation that could clog your pipes and your sewer system. These wipes do not dissolve like toilet paper. They hang around in pipes and in the sewer system, often with horrid results. They often combine with grease in the system to form a hard residue that could cause a serious backup. Even though the packaging on some wipes now says they are manufactured with “safe flush technology,” we recommend you keep them out of your toilet entirely and dispose of them in the trash.
Blocked drains at homes and businesses are usually caused by wipes, sanitary products, paper towels, fats, oils or grease.
Fats, Oils and Grease
Cooking fat, oil and grease (FOG) can clog the pipes at your home and in our system and cause sewage to back up into your home, yard, street and waterways. Not only will you have to pay a plumber to fix things, JEA will have to pay for these cleanups, too, which can lead to higher utility bills.
Learn About Proper FOG Disposal
Explore Solutions and Save
Learn about all the ways JEA helps Northeast Florida families, businesses and our community thrive and how we can help you do more.
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Sanitary Sewer Overflows
A Sanitary Sewer Overflow is when sewage (or wastewater) overflows from the sewer collection system and can happen for a number of reasons.
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Industrial Pretreatment
JEA Industrial Pretreatment is responsible for administration of the National Pretreatment Program in areas that discharge wastewater into JEA-owned wastewater facilities. JEA has been recognized for its robust pollution prevention programs, community outreach efforts, and internal process improvements and controls leading to dramatic reductions in pollutant loadings to JEA Water Reclamation Facilities.