Here’s what we’re doing in Nassau County

Thomas Creek as seen from a bird’s point of view.
Thomas Creek as seen from a bird’s point of view.

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.

Nassau 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Consumptive Use Permitting Program reviews requests for water use and determines the amount of water available to be withdrawn from groundwater or surface water for uses such as public supply utilities, agricultural operations, commercial uses and power generation.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.

Water supply planning and our regulatory and water conservation programs are examples of how we apply our water supply core mission each day.

Strategies to protect and restore water quality include a commitment to comprehensive monitoring to guide impairment determinations, manage restoration projects and evaluate effectiveness.

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.

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:

Prescribed fire helps maintain fire-dependent public lands.

Public lands help protect Florida’s endangered plants and animals.

Minimum flows and levels balance people’s and nature’s needs.

See the MFLs priority systems map.

Learn more about MFLs.

Wild azaleas blooming along Thomas Creek
Wild azaleas bloom along Thomas Creek at Thomas Creek Conservation Area in Nassau County.

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:

  • Northern Coastal Basins — The District, local, regional, state and federal agencies have come together to address issues such as flooding, water quality (particularly in shellfish harvesting areas) and protection of coastal saltmarsh resources. Interagency work groups are guiding efforts to develop and monitor resource baselines and to coordinate resources and funding for development and implementation of regional watershed management initiatives, which includes a watershed-based Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Plan to enhance, restore and manage the water quality and wetland resources within the basin’s estuaries. Adopted in 2002, the District implements the plan through activities that include a water quality monitoring network, tracking and evaluating stormwater management to provide technical assistance to help guide local government stormwater retrofit projects, work with local leaders to collect and evaluate compliance with permitted stormwater treatment systems, and collect, map and evaluate datasets for resources and habitats used to develop and implement restoration activities.
  • St. Marys River Management Committee — This committee is an intergovernmental advisory board of elected and appointed members from four counties along the St. Marys River in Florida and Georgia, including Baker and Nassau counties (Florida) and Charlton and Camden counties (Georgia). The committee develops and implement plans and programs for the St. Marys River. The committee is made up of individuals who are involved because of a personal commitment to the use and protection of the St. Marys River. The District has participated on the committee as a non-voting member, in a technical support role, since its inception in 1991. For more information, visit saintmarysriver.org.

The District’s cost-share programs help local governments, agricultural entities, disadvantaged communities, and other non-governmental organizations undertake projects to benefit one or more of the District’s core missions and benefit your community. Such projects include upgrades to water treatment facilities, expansion of reclaimed water lines, creating stormwater treatment ponds and parks, etc. Here are examples of this work in your county.

  • Fernandina Beach Area 1 Drainage Improvements — The project includes construction of a wet detention pond, a floating wetland system, and inlet skimmers to reduce sediment and nutrient content to upgrade the existing drainage system in the North 15th Street area where no stormwater treatment existed. The estimated nutrient load reduction water quality benefit to Egans Creek (which drains to the Fort Clinch Aquatic Preserve) is 50 lbs/yr of TN and 10 lbs/yr of TP.
  • Traders Hill Farms Rainwater Harvesting — This project involves capturing rainwater from greenhouse roofs for use in approximately 5 acres of an aquaponics operation benefitting the St. Marys River Basin. The estimated water conservation benefit is 0.07 mgd.
  • Read about our cost-share program.
  • See other projects

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.

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.

No teachers from Nassau County have participated in the Blue School Grant Program.

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.

emergency management meeting
District staff assist local communities year-round as part of the state’s emergency management system, here helping to address storm-related impacts following Hurricane Matthew in 2016.