St. Johns County celebrated its $191.8 million State Road 207 water reclamation facility with an Oct. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony. The facility began operations May 11, according to the county’s announcement.

County officials and project partners held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 15 at the facility, located at 3055 State Road 207 in Elkton, according to the county. The plant began operations May 11.

The project was funded through the St. Johns County Utilities enterprise fund, supported by utility revenues rather than property taxes, the county said.

The facility treats wastewater and produces reclaimed water for irrigation. Over 20 years, the county expects it to conserve 13 billion gallons of water by reducing demand on the Floridan Aquifer, the region's primary source of drinking water. The project is also expected to prevent more than one million pounds of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, from entering the Matanzas River over the same period.

"This facility is a good example of that kind of long-term planning," Clay Murphy, chair and District 3 commissioner of the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, said at the ceremony.

The plant can treat up to 3.25 million gallons of wastewater per day. It was built with the ability to expand to 6.5 million gallons per day to meet future demand.

Beyond the facility itself, the project included the Watson Road Master Wastewater Pump Station, the Tillman Ridge Reclaimed Water Booster Pump Station and roughly 15 miles of wastewater and reclaimed water pipelines connecting the new infrastructure to the county's utility system. Jacobs, an engineering firm, delivered the project through a progressive design-build contract.

Neal Shinkre, director of St. Johns County Utilities, used the ceremony to encourage residents to think about their own water conservation habits. Ann Taylor, vice-chair and District 5 commissioner, said the facility reflects the county's strategic plan.