Here’s what we’re doing in St. Johns County
The work of the St. Johns River Water Management District is all about water. Our staff work each day on your behalf to protect water. This work is focused on four core missions: water supply, water quality, flood protection and natural systems enhancement and protection.
St. Johns County is just one of the 18 counties where we do our work. Following is an overview of some of the ways that your tax dollars benefit not only the residents and visitors to the county, but also its natural and water resources.
Have you seen construction projects in your community or wonder where your water comes from? Chances are, the District issued a permit through its regulatory programs. The Consumptive Use Permitting Program reviews requests for water use and determines the amount of water available to be withdrawn from groundwater or surface water for uses such as public supply utilities, agricultural operations, commercial uses and power generation. Environmental Resource Permits authorize new construction in a way to prevent harm to water resources (such as causing adverse flooding), manage surface water and protect water quality, wetlands and other surface waters.
- Visit the interactive map dashboard to see what District permits have been issued in your county. Search by county, city or street address.
- Map-based GIS permit search tool (within the ePermit portal)
- Click here to search our ePemit portal for permits or applications.
- Overview of our permitting program.
Water supply planning and our regulatory and water conservation programs are examples of how we apply our water supply core mission each day.
- In St. Johns County, you are included in the North Florida Regional Water Supply planning region, which identifies water supply challenges and water resource development projects to meet current and anticipated demands for water.
- Watering restrictions help save water. Know your watering day.
- Florida Water Star program – Overview of building water efficiency into your home or business
- See map of “green homes” in St. Johns County
Strategies to protect and restore water quality include a commitment to comprehensive monitoring to guide impairment determinations, manage restoration projects and evaluate effectiveness.
- What’s happening with the water in my area right now? See our continuous water quality monitoring portal.
- Surface water quality, searchable map of status and trends.
- Groundwater quality, searchable map of status and trends.
- Springs water quality, searchable map of status and trends.
Flood protection comes in many forms, such as water storage in natural wetlands and your neighborhood stormwater pond or flood control structures built in strategic locations.
- There are no water control structures in St. Johns County.
- St. Johns River levels.
- Flooding in hurricanes or tropical storms. Here’s a list of local government contacts, state agencies and helpful website links for before, during or after a storm.
- Location of controlled water levels in your county.
Natural systems benefit from lands the District has purchased for conservation and restoration. These lands are open for free for your enjoyment. On lands not owned by the District, natural systems benefit from effective permitting, water quality improvement projects, minimum flows and levels and cost-share projects.
The District owns or manages the following public lands in your county:
- Deep Creek Conservation Area
- Gourd Island Conservation Area
- Moses Creek Conservation Area
- Stokes Landing Conservation Area
- Twelve Mile Swamp Conservation Area
Prescribed fire helps maintain fire-dependent public lands.
Public lands help protect Florida’s endangered plants and animals.
See the MFLs priority systems map.
Learn more about MFLs.
The District constructs large, regional projects that often benefit multiple counties and benefit more than one of the District’s core missions. Some of the projects in your county include:
- Expansion of reclaimed water — The District partnered with the county to expand the use of reclaimed water by 1 million gallons per day, which reduces nutrients flowing into the St. Johns River and protects drinking water supplies by offsetting the use of higher quality drinking water for irrigation. The water main installed during the project transports reclaimed water to new customers and future residents and commercial customers along International Golf Parkway. A similar project was conducted at St. Augustine Beach, where a 1 million gallon reclaimed water storage tank and high service pumps were built to complement reclaimed water infrastructure to several residential communities.
- Stormwater treatment areas — The District purchased land and built regional stormwater treatment areas to reduce the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen and suspended solids flowing to the St. Johns River from agricultural activity and roadway runoff. The treatment areas, located in the Hastings area, filter runoff and offsets loss of wetlands from a road widening project along State Road 207.
The District collects a wealth of data that is used to make science-based decisions in all our work. This includes data on how much rain your county has received, the water levels in area lakes and rivers, the amount of nutrients in natural waterways, planning to address future water supply needs and much more.
- Has your area received rain? See the rainfall dashboard.
- Surface water levels.
- Hydrologic data, interactive map.
The Blue School Grant Program provides funding to teachers within the District in support of their efforts to engage students in understanding and appreciating Florida’s freshwater and estuarine systems.
Blue School Grant Program winners.
- St. Johns Technical High School
- Pedro Menendez High School
- Creekside High School
- Creekside High School and Freedom Crossing Academy
- St. Johns Technical Academy of Coastal and Water Resources
- Freedom Crossing Academy
- Palm Valley Academy
- St. Augustine High School
Encourage your child’s teacher to apply for a grant.
Contact us about a speaker for your group. We’d love the opportunity to speak with you about our work. Speaker’s bureau.
Free materials you can read or download at home or school.
Staff in our Governmental Affairs Program provide water resource information, assistance and support to federal, state and local elected officials and their staffs, and collaborate on water resource issues, programs and projects. One of the ways you may have met team members is during the annual Water Conservation Month observance when your local governments approved proclamations recognizing the observance.
