JEA customers in Pottsburg Creek area advised to keep out of water after 500K-gallon sewage spill

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An equipment failure at JEA’s Skinner Parkway lift station on Thursday led to a “sanitary sewer overflow” into Pottsburg Creek.

JEA said the estimated size of the spill was 509,000 gallons and happened after crews discovered a break in a submerged pipe around 5:30 a.m.

JEA said it cleaned up at the lift station and finished recovery efforts from Pottsburg Creek by Thursday evening, but it sent a cautionary e-mail to about 780 customers adjacent to potentially impacted areas along Pottsburg Creek advising against fishing or recreational activities in affected waters until further notice.

JEA said the spill is not impacting drinking water in the area.

JEA said it took water samples for testing on Friday morning but won’t have the results back for 24 hours. The spill included anything that came from a shower drain or a toilet.

It’s not the first time the area has experienced environmental issues.

Last year, approximately 90,000 gallons of raw sewage overflowed into Pottsburg Creek, a waterway in Jacksonville’s Grove Park neighborhood that runs directly into the St. Johns River, according to a report JEA filed with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection.

That resulted in elevated bacteria levels in the creek.

The state and city also investigated after construction site runoff was seen in the area of Beach Boulevard and Hogan Road in 2021.