Sewer Service in Jacksonville: JEA Rates, Septic Conversion and Backups

JEA, which calls itself the largest municipal utility in Florida, collects Jacksonville sewage through more than 4,526 miles of wastewater collection lines and treats it at 12 water reclamation facilities (JEA).

JEA says it collects wastewater from a four-county area, and its reclaimed water system sends highly treated effluent to lawn irrigation instead of the St. Johns River, which cuts the nitrogen the river receives (JEA, About). JEA lists 30,460 reclaimed water customers and 11 reclaimed water production facilities (JEA).

In a February 14, 2025 release, JEA said its Greenland Water Reclamation Facility, built on 80 acres near E-Town, was the utility's newest water treatment facility in Duval County in 48 years (JEA media release). JEA said Greenland can treat up to 4 million gallons of wastewater a day, represents a $148 million investment, and produces reclaimed water for 22,800 customers in E-Town and south along U.S. 1 in Nocatee and Twin Creeks (JEA).

Sewer and drinking water travel in separate pipes in Jacksonville: JEA states that the potable water reaching a home comes through a completely separate piping system from the wastewater collected from it, with separate treatment facilities (JEA).

A Jacksonville home on a 5/8 inch meter pays JEA a $17.03 monthly sewer base charge plus $5.82 for every 1,000 gallons (kGal), under rates effective October 1, 2026 (JEA rates).

JEA bills sewer on all usage at one rate, with no tiers, while the water side of the same Jacksonville bill climbs through four tiers (JEA rates). For Duval County customers JEA adds a 3% Franchise Fee on water, sewer and irrigation (but not on reclaimed irrigation) and a 10% Public Service Tax on water and irrigation (JEA rates). JEA also states there are no taxes or fees on water, sewer, or irrigation services outside of Duval County (JEA).

As a worked example from the published Jacksonville rates, a home on a 5/8 inch meter that uses 6,000 gallons in a month owes $17.03 plus 6 times $5.82, or $51.95 in sewer charges before the 3 percent franchise fee. Lawn water drawn through a separate Jacksonville irrigation meter is billed under JEA's potable or reclaimed irrigation rate classes, each with its own base charge and two usage tiers (JEA rates).

Opening service carries a connection charge: JEA lists $10.00 when the start is ordered in advance or before noon for the same day and $25.00 when a same day request comes after noon (JEA fees). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the JEA website.

Jacksonville neighborhoods move off septic through the Septic Tank Phase Out program, which the City of Jacksonville and JEA carry out together (JEA Septic Tank Phase Out, archived January 17, 2026).

JEA's program page, as archived in January 2026, says the Jacksonville City Council approved the program on August 23, 2016 (JEA, archived January 2026).

Each Jacksonville neighborhood must reach a 70% ownership participation threshold before its project moves forward; only then is it designed, bid and built, and JEA warns that the physical connections to its system will be several years away (JEA, archived January 2026). The City of Jacksonville and JEA contact owners in a future phase out area directly by mail and email and invite them to a neighborhood meeting before any work begins (JEA, archived January 2026).

The archived JEA program page lists the Jacksonville priority areas, determined by the City of Jacksonville and the Duval County Health Department, as of March 2025: Biltmore C and Beverly Hills completed, Christobel in design, Riverview in public outreach, and next in line Eggleston Heights, St. Nicholas, Emerson, Julington Creek, Champion Forest, Westfield, Sans Pereil, Lakeshore and Holly Oaks (JEA, archived January 2026). JEA says the list is reviewed annually and is highly subject to change, and the live program page no longer loads on jea.com, so owners in those Jacksonville neighborhoods should confirm status with JEA before planning around it.

The scale is large: JEA says the planning documents from its Innovative Wastewater Treatment Program may also guide future work on the approximately 43,000 additional septic systems that remain in Duval County (JEA, archived January 2026). JEA says it is partnering with the City of Jacksonville to invest $38.6 million in eliminating residential septic systems (JEA).

Two money programs sit beside the phase out in Jacksonville. JEA's archived page says Council ordinance 2018-196 funds grants from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund for commercial owners with failing septic tanks, and cites Health Department statistics counting 530 commercially zoned properties on septic in that fund's target area, north of I-10 and west of U.S. 17 (Main Street), plus downtown, Springfield and Panama Park (JEA, archived January 2026). The same JEA page describes the City of Jacksonville Utility Tap-In Program, which offers deferred payment loans to low to moderate income Jacksonville residents for water and sewer connection fees, plumbing, and septic or well repairs (JEA, archived January 2026).

A severe sewage backup into a Jacksonville home goes to JEA at (904) 665-6000, a line JEA staffs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and any life threatening emergency goes to 911 first (JEA Contact).

JEA residential customer care uses the same Jacksonville number, (904) 665-6000 or (800) 683-5542, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (JEA). For non-emergency property damage caused by JEA operations or vehicles, JEA directs residents to the City of Jacksonville Customer Service Center at (904) 630-CITY (2489), which opens the claim as a service request (JEA).

A sanitary sewer overflow in Jacksonville is sewage escaping from a broken pipe, manhole or pump station instead of reaching a JEA treatment plant; JEA lists broken pipes, blockages, air release valves, flooded manholes, extreme storms and power loss at pump stations as causes (JEA). When an overflow affects a property, JEA posts signs nearby and may leave a door hanger and barricade tape, and it removes the signs once the area is cleared or sample results return to pre-incident conditions (JEA).

Near a posted overflow, JEA advises staying out of the affected water and ground, including swimming, fishing and boating, until notification that the release has cleared (JEA). JEA also keeps a monthly online listing of reportable overflow events (JEA).

JEA says its Jacksonville wastewater system is designed for human waste and toilet paper only, and everything else risks clogs, overflows and fatbergs (JEA What Not to Flush).

JEA's top ten list for Jacksonville customers starts with baby wipes and fats, oils and grease, and runs through food and trash, cleaning products, rags and disposable gloves, cotton balls and dental floss, disposable diapers, feminine products, hair, medications and needles, and paper towels or plastic bags (JEA). JEA adds that many items labeled flushable or disposable are actually not safe to flush (JEA).

The problem is visible in the Jacksonville system itself: JEA shows a rag mass pulled from a lift station in Arlington that built up over a short period and caused a level transducer to fail (JEA). JEA notes that fatbergs damage treatment equipment and raise repair costs that in turn could affect customer rates (JEA).

For scale, JEA says the average home produces less than 200 gallons per day of wastewater, and it takes more than five homes to produce enough reclaimed water for a single irrigation customer (JEA).

JEA crews blow smoke into Jacksonville sewer mains through a manhole, because smoke rising from the ground marks an underground break in the line (JEA Smoke Testing).

Before a test on a Jacksonville street, JEA asks owners to pour two gallons of water into seldom-used sinks or floor drains so the traps stay full; smoke enters a building only through defective plumbing or dried-up traps and should clear in about 15 minutes (JEA). JEA says the smoke leaves no residue and is not a fire hazard (JEA).

Smoke inside a Jacksonville home points to a plumbing defect on private property that JEA says is the owner's responsibility, while JEA fixes defects found on public property; questions go to JEA Project Outreach at (904) 665-7500 (JEA).