FLEMING ISLAND – A pond at the Fleming Island Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility will become a key component of removing phosphorus from Doctors Lake.

Local and state officials attended the groundbreaking for the Doctors Lake Phosphorus Removal Pilot Project last Tuesday morning.

The St. Johns River Water Management District received a $1.5 million appropriation from the Legislature last year.

The pilot project handles treated waste before it enters the Doctors Lake watershed. The water is distributed onto a media bed, a sandy mulch-like material that clings to phosphorus and leaves no byproducts. The waste is filtered, it re-enters the effluent line and is chlorinated. Then it will be reused or enter the watershed.

Phosphorus is a nutrient algae feed from. Algae blooms on the St. Johns River are more prevalent recently. Blooms have numerous health effects and they block sunlight for underwater plants that fish populations eat.

There are about 10 algae blooms in Doctors Lake according to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s algae dashboard.

“If you cut off or diminish the supply of phosphorus you begin to constrain how much algae you have,” District Executive Director Ann Shortelle said. “One project is not going to get us where we need to be, but with many projects working in concert we’re going to begin to make good progress.”

Clay County Utility Authority Executive Director Tom Morris said CCUA would do its part to improve the water quality at Doctors Lake.

“We can’t wait to get everything rolling and clean the lake up,” Morris said.

The pilot program covers about 40,000 square feet. It was designed by the Sustainable Water Investment Group.

Sen. Rob Bradley (R-Fleming Island) told the audience that Doctors Lake was fundamental to the character of state and region. Bradley said agencies needed to look at alternative approaches as waterways are more taxed.

“How we handle water now is really going to dictate the future of our state,” Bradley said. “Folks, this is a big deal today because we’re doing something that hasn’t been done. These are cutting-edge approaches to phosphorus removal.”