Northeast District - St. Johns River

Programs

St. Johns River at sunset The St. Johns River, running 310 miles, is the longest river in Florida. It is one of the few major rivers in the nation that flows north, from its start in marshes southwest of Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean. In between, it evolves into a series of lakes and emerges into a river averaging two miles wide for its final 100 miles. The St. Johns River is a vital and critical part of the economy and quality of life in North Florida.

The Department of Environmental Protection is committed to addressing water quality issues in the St. Johns River. The Department has consistently worked with its federal and local partners to restore this critical natural resource. Efforts include the restoration of nearly 19,000 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat, ecosystem management and waterfront redevelopment. Since 1997, the State has invested more than $48 million to restore the St. Johns River.

River Accord

On July 27, Mayor John Peyton, together with partners who will invest in the future health of the river, announced the formation of the River Accord, a 10-year, $700 million program to begin restoring the health of the Lower St. Johns River Basin. The City of Jacksonville, the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), the JEA, the Water Sewer Expansion Authority (WSEA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are members of the Accord partnership. Based on decades of work in river restoration programs, the members of the Accord will commit $700 million to reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged into the river by:

closing wastewater treatment plants
improving other wastewater treatment plants and building pipelines necessary to reuse treated wastewater for irrigation of lawns, parks, and golf courses
eliminating failing septic tanks; and
capturing and treating stormwater before it enters the river.

The investments by the Accord partners will be the largest in the Lower St. Johns River Basin’s history. It provides for a citywide no-net-gain goal for septic tanks, an expansive program to improve access to the river, an annual state of the river report, and a research program to examine why the river’s tributaries are filling in with silt.