Scientists say storm water runoff in Seminole County has hurt the water quality in Lake Jesup. But county leaders hope a new treatment facility will reverse the damage.
- Storm water runoff has hurt Lake Jesup water quality
- A new treatment facility filters out pollutants
- Facility cost $9 million
Ron Kidd fishes in Lake Jesup about five times a week.
But he says he’s no longer able to catch certain types of fish.
“The whole muddy lake – there’s no bass in there,” said Kidd.
Scientists say years of storm water runoff has taken its toll. Drainage from several cities makes its way to Lake Jesup through Soldiers Creek. County leaders decided to go straight to the source.
The county built a $9 million facility that filters pollutants out of Soldiers Creek. The nutrients lower water quality.
“They act almost like plant food,” said Seminole County Environmental Scientist Shannon Wetzel. “If you have a lot of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous in the water, you can have excessive algae growth, excessive plant growth, and then it can throw the whole system out of balance and can create fish kills.”
The facility was built using an existing retention pond near the intersection of South Country Club Road and North Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Longwood. When water flows into the facility from Soldiers Creek, aluminum sulfate attaches to the pollutants like a magnet. The combination of the pollutants and the aluminum sulfate will sink to the bottom of the water, leaving the nutrient-reduced water to flow on to Lake Jesup.
The waste from the filtration process, known as floc, will be collected in tanks. Wetzel says much of that will be sent to a wastewater treatment plant. But Lake Jesup won’t be free of harmful pollutants overnight.
“It’s taken several years for Lake Jesup to accumulate the kind of nutrients it has in it so it’s going to take several years to clean it up,” said Wetzel.
The facility is the first of its kind in Seminole County, but other efforts to improve water quality are underway across Central Florida. Seminole County recently passed a fertilizer ordinance. Kidd says he’s already seen an improvement in the lake over the last couple of years.
“About three or four years ago you couldn’t see one foot under the water,” said Kidd.
But he still looks forward to the day when he can pull bass from the water. For now he’ll have to settle for croppy and other fish.
“The more they flush that out the cleaner the lake will get, and the bass will start moving in again,” said Kidd.
The Florida Department of Transportation paid for most of the new facility, with money also coming from the St. Johns River Water Management District. The county is expected to maintain the facility.
Seminole County officials are scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new water treatment facility Friday.