Amelia Island water quality alert

Last week, the St. Marys Riverkeeper announced in a press release that recent water quality testing revealed bacterial contamination in several local waterways on Amelia Island. Egans Creek near Sadler Road, Jackson Creek at Bonnieview Road, and Escambia Slough near the port of Fernandina all show elevated levels of harmful bacteria.

“While we’re encouraged by improvements in the health of Escambia Slough, the persistent bacterial contamination in Egans Creek and Jackson Creek is alarming,” said Emily Floore, St. Marys Riverkeeper. “These water quality issues pose a direct risk to residents engaging in kayaking, fishing or swimming — especially in stagnant or restricted flow areas — reinforcing the need for continued vigilance and public engagement.”

St. Marys Riverkeeper encourages visitors and residents to stay informed about water quality conditions and avoid contact with the creek in affected areas, particularly after rainfall or during periods of low water flow. The Riverkeeper team is coordinating with the city of Fernandina Beach, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and will initiate additional sampling at multiple sites along these waterways to determine the source of the contamination.

St. Marys Riverkeeper’s water quality data is available on their website. The “Suggested No-Swim Sites” are sites monitored frequently and contain the most recent data for testing locations on Egans Creek, Jackson Creek and Escambia Slough.

In July of 2017, St. Marys Riverkeeper Rick Frey reported increased E. coli at various locations in Egans Creek to Action News Jax reporter Lorena Inclán. The news report stated, “Elevated bacteria has shown up in three locations near Atlantic, Sadler and at the mouth of Egans Creek.” This article demonstrates the persistent problems facing Egans Creek.

More recently, Escambia Slough improvements designed to reduce bacterial contamination included the removal of a street to boost water flow and reduce pollution levels. While this project does appear to have reduced bacterial contamination in the Escambia Slough, the creek remains a public health risk according to the St. Marys Riverkeeper press release. Jackson Creek at Bonnieview Road has tested positive for elevated bacterial contamination consistently for the past several months and is also a public health risk.

Nassau County Ordinance No. 2023-015 states that “Whereas, it benefits the County, the citizens and the environment, including the water quality of the County’s water resources, to have property owners utilize central sewer service instead of on-site sewage treatment systems when available,” it also states “The County has determined that the mandatory connection policy of the County will not apply to existing development with available water services, but that said policy will apply to new development with available water services." The Ordinance goes on to describe rules for septic tanks that do not function properly.

Needless to say, the use of septic tanks in Nassau County is a muddy subject. It reminds me of Erma Bombeck’s book published in the 1970s, “The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank.”

All kidding aside, if you depend on a septic tank for your wastewater treatment needs, have it inspected yearly. Please be a responsible community citizen and make sure you are not contributing to harmful bacteria in our local waterways.

I frequently refer to the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) on the east coast of Florida in my articles. I do so because the IRL is a great example of what happens to water quality when proper infrastructure does not keep up with population growth. Over the decades, subtle clues indicating poor water quality were observed by many but ignored by county and state officials.

On June 21, I wrote an article about manatees in the Indian River Lagoon for the Fernandina Observer. In the article, I described “from December 2020 to April 2022, more than 1,200 manatees starved to death in Florida.” Manatee deaths spiked due to poor water quality in the IRL.

Waterfront homes with septic tanks, wastewater treatment plants, golf courses and over-fertilization of lawns in Florida release tons of nutrients into our waterways. Poor water quality prompted a federal judge to issue a moratorium on any new septic tanks along the IRL, which is located between Cape Canaveral and Vero Beach on Florida's east coast.

On July 24, 2025, an article was published by the Florida Phoenix News with the headline “The longest river in Florida is the St. Johns River and biosolids spread on fields as fertilizers are causing toxic algae blooms all along the river."

Also, this month, News4JAX reported “4 people in Florida have died from a flesh-eating bacteria in 2025, including a St. Johns County resident.” Massive algae blooms caused by nutrient overload are the perfect host for flesh-eating and other harmful bacteria such as E-coli and enterococci in Florida water bodies.

All this news reminds me of a statement my ecology professor told our class back in the 1980s. He said, “Florida is like a sock; it fills up from the bottom.” The statement has stuck with me all these years. I have watched population growth in our state do exactly as my ecology professor claimed it would.

Population growth in Florida has grown from south to north. And, Nassau County is directly in the crosshairs of all that continued growth. We are a fast-growing county facing the same issues our neighbors to the south did decades ago.

Will we have the foresight to learn from other counties' past mistakes? Or, will it take a federal judge to order a moratorium on septic tank permits as happened this past spring in the IRL coastal region?

I am calling on all Nassau County citizens, public officials, and business owners to ask yourself if clean water and clean air is something you want for your grandchildren. If so, do your part. Do not allow mismanaged growth policies to continue polluting our local natural resources. Proper infrastructure should be mandatory and built before continued growth is allowed.

A friend of mine is fond of saying “all we can do is the next right thing.” Nassau County, stand up for the protection of our natural resources and do the next right thing. And remember, we are not owners of property; we are simply caretakers for future generations.