The State Road 207 Water Reclamation Facility in Elkton went into service on May 11, 2026. It cost $191.8 million, and St. Johns County says no capital project in its history has been bigger.
The plant sits west of Interstate 95 at 3055 SR 207. It starts out able to treat 3.25 million gallons a day, with room to grow to 6.5 million gallons as demand rises.
What comes out is reclaimed water, used for irrigation and other jobs that do not need drinking-quality supply. Across the county, that water already feeds golf courses, neighborhood common areas and residential landscapes. Every gallon spent on a lawn is a gallon of drinking water left in the Floridan Aquifer, the main source of drinking water for Northeast Florida.
The county also points to the Matanzas River. Over the next 20 years, the project is expected to keep more than one million pounds of nutrient pollutants, including nitrogen and phosphorus, out of it.
“This facility represents a transformative investment in St. Johns County’s future,” said Alan Flood, a senior engineer with the county’s Utility Department. “By expanding reclaimed water capacity and reducing nutrient discharges, we are protecting our natural resources while ensuring our utility infrastructure can meet the needs of future generations.”
What was built
The project is more than a treatment plant. It also includes the Watson Road Master Wastewater Pump Station and the Tillman Ridge Reclaimed Water Booster Pump Station. About 15 miles of wastewater and reclaimed water pipe, ranging from 16 to 30 inches across, tie those pieces into the county’s utility system.
Jacobs, the engineering and construction management firm, delivered the work under a progressive design-build contract.
The money came from the Utility Department’s enterprise fund. Utility revenues paid for it, the county says, not property taxes.
The facility also helps the county comply with State Senate Bill 64, which encourages beneficial reuse of treated wastewater and cuts discharges into rivers and other surface waters.
The county plans an official ribbon-cutting in late summer.
