JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA broke ground Thursday on a new facility to treat wastewater into water that can be used for irrigation.
The new water reclamation facility will be located southeast of eTown, south of The Exchange. The Cypress Bluff Community Development District says the facility will be surrounded by preservation and will not be visible from the community.
JEA’s leadership says not only will this facility help conserve our drinking water, it will also support economic growth on Jacksonville’s Southside.
“It is so significant because without having this facility here you can’t have growth,” said Raynetta Marshall, Chief Operating Officer at JEA.
Marshall said water reclamation is about sustainability, allowing wastewater to be treated and reclaimed for irrigation and other uses, like at power plants, rather than dumped into the St. Johns River.
This facility will be known as the Greenland Water Reclamation Facility. It’s the first new reclamation facility built by JEA in Duval County since 1977. A news release from JEA notes that the facility is located behind eTown, not within the boundary of the development.
“The plant was designed to serve as a regional hub for control and operations of JEA’s reclaimed water system,” said Katus Watson, VP of Operations for Jacobs Engineering Group.
The goal is to serve the Southside as it grows, starting out treating water from an area initially serving nearly 23,000 sewer customers. Once it’s up and running, the plant will be able to process up to four million gallons of wastewater daily, with the capacity to triple that in the coming years.
“Additionally, due to the facility’s location, engineering design and substantial vegetative buffer, residents should not detect odor during construction or once the facility is in operation,” the JEA news release reads.
Marshall said the facility will cost about $150 million and will be financed internally by JEA.
The water reclamation facility is scheduled to begin service in November of 2024.