JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville neighborhood is relieved to see progress on JEA’s septic tank phase-out project.
Areas around Christobel are starting to see the pre-construction phase ramp up. The phase-out project received millions of dollars a decade ago and has made progress in several areas across the city.
Along with the transition from septic tanks to city sewage, residents will also see road improvements. It’s something residents say they’ve needed.
“This is like a long-term promise being fulfilled,” said Jacqueline Rhodes, a resident who lives in the neighborhood.
Jacqueline Rhodes has lived on Gainesville Avenue on and off since 1980. She says when it pours rain, her septic tank can be a huge issue.
“When we have a hurricane, and we go out of power, well, the water fills up our septic tanks, and then we have backed up... even if it’s not sewage, clear water will back up in the house,” Rhodes said.
She’s now seeing bulldozers, dirt, and detours in her neighborhood.
“1965...1966, the city of Jacksonville consolidated with the outside and once that consolidation process happened, it was some things that were supposed to happen to the inner city and some got some of the promises but most of the promises were not fulfilled,” Rhodes said.
In 2016, the city of Jacksonville and JEA invested more than 30 million dollars for the program. Neighborhood by neighborhood, they’ve been able to make progress. A JEA spokesperson says Jacqueline’s neighborhood is considered critical.
“The reason that they’re phasing these particular septic tanks out is because they’ve ranked them as some of the highest in terms of failing septic tanks in Jacksonville,” said Jimmy Orth, the Executive Director for St. Johns Riverkeeper.
He says the program is necessary to improve the water quality of the St. Johns River.
"Unfortunately, most of our tributaries that flow into the St. Johns in Duval County are impaired, meaning that they’re polluted too high; the levels of fecal coliform bacterium are too high. And so, this is one of the efforts to try to clean that up," Orth said.
He says it’s crucial that the city continues to appropriate funding.
“These projects are so expensive. Right now, the last I checked with JEA, this project is costing on average about $60,000 to $70,000 per household to phase out septic tanks. So we’re talking about literally a billion-dollar problem,” Orth said.
A JEA spokesperson told Action News Jax the Riverview neighborhood has met the 70% participation requirement. They’re now entering the planning phase of the project there.
They provided this link for residents to keep themselves updated on the progress and history of the project: Septic Tank Phase Out Program.
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