by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
It was only appropriate that a porpoise surfaced several times as JEA Executive Director Jim Dickenson spoke. After all, he was addressing a very large crowd about the health of the St. Johns River.
“He’s there because we are already cleaning up the river,” said Dickenson.
Dickenson, several state and elected officials and dozens of river-conscious residents joined Mayor John Peyton on a numberless pier on the Southbank for the unveiling of The River Accord: A Partnership for the St. Johns — a 10-year, $742 million initiative designed to repair the health of the lower basin of the St. Johns River (it flows from south to north, thus the Jacksonville area is considered the lower basin).
A casually-dressed Peyton said the river is the area’s single biggest asset from a business, recreational and tourist perspective. But, it isn’t in good shape.
“The river is not well,” said Peyton. “It’s plain and simple, the nutrients are exceeding the tolerants.”
Peyton said without a healthy river, area business growth could come to a halt. He also said the military presence in Jacksonville relies heavily on the river, citing the fact that both Mayport and NAS are located on the St. Johns.
“There are over 32,000 registered boaters in Jacksonville. That is amazing,” said Peyton. “Let’s not underestimate the importance of the river to the military.”
Peyton said the river accounts for 19,000 jobs and $2.2 worth of industry. He also said there is approximately $1.3 billion worth of taxable riverfront property in Jacksonville. All of this, Peyton stressed, is reason enough to spend a decade and nearly $1 billion to restore the health of a river that a city was founded on.
JEA has agreed to do its part by eliminating 21,000 failing septic tanks in Duval County and Dickenson said the utility authority won’t stop there.
“Seventy percent of the nitrates in the river comes from counties upriver, but 14 percent comes from JEA and we are working to lower,” said Dickenson. “We are going to retire six old wastewater treatment plants and upgrade five others.”