FLORIDA WATER REUSE WEEK

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 A Celebration and Reminder of Water's Importance

This past week - May 17 - 23, 2026 was Water Reuse Week in Florida. This is an annual celebration in Florida, supported by our five Water Management Districts. Many local governments and communities sign declarations and host educational events for kids and adults. The idea is to appreciate and protect our precious water resources.

While Florida may seem to have plenty of water, only a small percentage is fresh water suitable for drinking. The recent drought has made this even more apparent as many in the state are under a severe water shortage with restrictions.

That's why the reuse of reclaimed water becomes more important every day. 

JEA H2.O Purification Center

As part of Water Reuse Week, the Florida Water Reuse Summit was held at JEA's H2.O Purification Center in Jacksonville, Florida.  (JEA is a large utility in northeast Florida). This impressive facility will take highly treated reclaimed water and further purify it with several steps, including ultrafiltration; reverse osmosis; and ultraviolet (UV) advanced oxidation processing. Basically, JEA is doing what nature does, only faster and better.

The H2.O Purification Center will replenish the Floridan Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to Northeast Florida, with  one million gallons per day of this highly treated water. This is a form of indirect potable reuse. 

In addition to reclaiming water for our future, this beautiful facility is also a center for education. 
Visitors will be able to view the process in action, and enjoy hands-on demonstrations of the process. There is also an excellent training facility on-site for treatment plant operators, seminars and meetings.

Combining innovative technology with a state-of-the-art educational facility is a benefit for the entire area. As part of the Water Reuse Summit, we were able to tour the facility and view the process in action. 



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