Seminole County cuts the ribbon on new facility to help clean Lake Jesup

Seminole County and state officials today cut the ribbon on the new Lake Jesup Nutrient Reduction Facility in Longwood that will clean dirty stormwater and reduce the amount of harmful nutrients flowing into the large lake and eventually into the St. Johns River.

The $7.7 million facility, also known as NuRF, is located near the intersection of North Ronald Reagan Boulevard and South Country Club Road.

As polluted water from street gutters and lawns flows into Soldiers Creek and eventually into Lake Jesup, it carries with it a harmful mix of phosphorus and nitrogen pollutants that feed algae blooms and pollute the lake.

That stormwater will now be diverted – up to 32.3 million gallons a day – into the facility where it will be mixed with liquid aluminum sulfate, or alum, to remove nearly 20 pounds a day of nitrogen and phosphorous. The clean water will then flow back into Soldiers Creek and eventually Lake Jesup.

The NuRF was a partnership among Seminole County, the Florida Department of Transportation and the St. Johns River Water Management District.