JEA’s board of directors approved a $ 3 million land purchase in Jacksonville’s Southside to build a water purification test facility. The facility is expected to cost $ 40 million and include a visitor center where the city-owned utility will attempt to sell the public the idea of drinking water that used to be sewer.
The project has been in progress since 2016 to meet the city’s forecasted water needs. However, this new test facility will not fill drinking fountains with water. The purpose of the proposed site is to process a million gallons of water per day that will be returned to the city’s treated water system that will be used for irrigation and other purposes, but not for drinking.
Ultimately, JEA hopes to be able to use the knowledge gained at this location to set up additional locations where wastewater is processed into drinking water. Based on the projected water needs of the Jacksonville population, a drinking water treatment plant could be needed as early as 2028.
Speaking at the JEA board meeting on Friday, CEO John Baker said, “Part of the project is to train and train ourselves and learn, train operators and teach the public what is going on and how we are doing it.”
At least 4 million Americans already get drinking water from recycled sewage, according to the Wall Street Journal. JEA officials say this type of water purification is vital to avoid depletion of the area’s aquifers. The demonstration plant is scheduled to go into operation by 2024.
JEA’s board of directors also approved an increase in the cost of connecting water, sewer and irrigation to new developments on Friday. These rates are expected to rise over the next 18 months.
A group of developers asked the board to reconsider the tariff increases, some said they would have to pass the cost on to renters and homeowners. Other developers complained that ongoing projects were not budgeted with the rate increases in mind.
JEA’s Board of Directors agreed to consider whether existing projects could be carried over at the current lower rates. A JEA committee will come up with a proposal for billing the existing projects next month.
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