River Accord White Papers

Specific information about problems addressed by and solutions proposed by the River Accord are found in the following pages:

• Fertilizer Ordinance
  One condition of the St. Johns River that has led to harmful algal blooms can be attributed to the fact the river has surpassed its ability to process nutrients entering it. There are many sources of these nutrients, one of which comes directly residential lawns – fertilizers.  Though a large amount of fertilizer application occurs on public and commercial properties such as parks and golf courses, excess or improper application of fertilizers by residential users also introduces a significant amount of nutrients into the river.
  
  
• Nitrogen Reduction Through Improved Wastewater Treatment, Increased Re-Use and Collaboration
  JEA has voluntarily reduced the amount of nitrogen it discharges into the St. Johns River by 39 percent from 1999 until today.  JEA is working to continue to reduce the amount of nitrogen it discharges into the river, by increasing reclaimed water use, retiring the remaining old-technology treatment plants and upgrading its large current-technology treatment plants.  JEA's five large regional wastewater treatment plants were built between 1960 and 1990 to replace many inefficient smaller plants and eliminate sewage flowing directly into the St. Johns River and its tributaries. 
  
• Phasing Out Septic Tanks in Failure Areas
  There are approximately 85,000 septic tanks located throughout Duval County.  Many of the septic tanks are failing and polluting the St. Johns River and its tributaries.  Failing septic tanks can also create unacceptable public health risks and inhibit private investment and economic development in affected areas. There are 22 areas in Duval County that have been declared septic tank failure areas by the Duval County Health Department.  These 22 areas account for approximately 21,000 of the city's septic tanks.
  
  
• Pollutant Discharge Reduction and Re-Use
  

  Current pollutant loads are exceeding the amount the Lower St. Johns River Basin can receive and still meet state and federal water quality standards. Meeting these standards and meeting water supply demands will only become more challenging as regional growth increases. A thousand people per day are moving to Florida, and the number of proposed Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs) coming to the northeast Florida area is remarkable, and in some respects, daunting. This extreme growth will have quantifiable impacts on natural resources. 
  
  

• Septic Tank Enforcement Program
  Properly installed and maintained septic systems are an effective means to deal with sewage.  Current regulatory requirements only address the installation of septic systems.  Only recently has any attempt been made to include operation and maintenance in the routine management of septic tanks. While most operational failures that directly affect the homeowner are identified and corrected promptly, the detection of functional failure of septic systems generally occurs when the water quality in an adjacent water body degrades and the search for potential sources identifies failing septic systems. 
  
• State of the River Report
  A team of faculty members from the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University will publish an annual State of the River Report and Report Card (a report summary) to provide independent evaluation of the health and restoration progress of the Lower St. Johns River Basin. The State of the River Report will be written for river stakeholders and the Report Card will be written for the public. 
  
• Stormwater Management
  The quality of runoff entering the Lower St. Johns River Basin and its tributaries from the city's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) is materially important to the overall health of the St. Johns River and must be improved significantly.
  
• Water Quality Monitoring System
  Turbidity is a key measure of water quality. Turbidity in water is influenced by suspended matter. Sources of high turbidity include heavy rain, floods, high winds, dredging operations, pollution, watershed development and poor land use practices that lead to increases in erosion, organic matter and nutrients, all of which increase suspended particulates and algae growth. Other important water quality variables include dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity (salinity), pH, temperature, depth and chlorophyll concentration.