ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Some St. Johns County residents are frustrated with the lack of reclaimed water supply coming from JEA. The issue is leading to dying lawns and costly repairs.
In St. Johns County and portions of southern Duval County, reclaimed water is used for irrigation to help conserve fresh water. JEA said it is experiencing a very high demand for reclaimed water in the Nocatee communities, which is impacting system pressure and irrigation supply.
Resident Chadwick Fulk said it’s costing him money. Most of his grass died after a recent trip out of town.
“When we left, it was gorgeous, luscious and green. I put a lot of work into it,” Fulk said. “So while we were gone, even though the sprinklers were set to go off, there was no water happening. And unfortunately, during that same time is when this area was not getting any rain, so my entire yard died.”
Fulk’s neighbors share his frustration. John Sierp said his sprinklers are only watering portions of his lawn because of low water pressure.
“As you can see, my grass looks like absolute crap. It’s just not getting watered properly like it should.” Sierp said. “So it’s supposed to have pressure and the heads are supposed to pop up and shoot and hit the whole grass area and it’s just not doing that.”
JEA is asking customers to stick to a watering schedule.
- Houses with odd number address should water on Wednesdays and Saturdays
- Even addresses should water on Thursdays and Sundays
- Water only when needed and not between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (Recommended between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.)
- Water for no more than one hour per zone
MORE | JEA urges customers to follow mandatory watering days, limit to twice a week
If everyone complies with these guidelines, JEA said there should be no pressure or capacity issues. But after months of issues with the reclaimed water supply, some Nocatee residents are less than hopeful.
Edward Ernst said he is paying hundreds of more dollars a month to JEA because he’s hand watering his lawn.
“I know they do have times where we’re supposed to be watering, but we can’t follow those times, because, one, we can’t visually see our water is going off, [we can’t] visually see we have pressure,” Ernst said. “Even during the recommended times that they’ve told us and the days that we’ve been told to use, we still don’t have that pressure.”
JEA said operational enhancements and facility upgrades are underway that will expand their capacity in Southern Duval and St. John’s County in the future.
Fulk said he would like JEA to address the problem now.
“I wish that they would take more responsibility, especially because this is going to be a huge expense for us to have to replace it,” Fulk said.
In a statement to News4JAX, a spokesperson for JEA said “Some customers continue to water on non-designated days, not adhering to St. Johns River Water Management District guidelines. JEA urges all customers to comply with these guidelines to conserve water resources and maintain adequate supply and pressure for irrigation.”
For more information on JEA’s reclaimed water supply and important system updates, please visit jea.com/reclaimed.