JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The sound of a flushing toilet could soon be synonymous with the city of Jacksonville reaching deeper into the pockets of its residents.

The mayor has made cleaning up the St. Johns River a priority, but does not currently have the funding for the project. So, the city is looking at several ways to come up with the money needed. One idea involves residents.

According to city officials, what is being called a "flush fee" would not be money down the drain, but rather money paid to the city for what is going down the drain.

Because the waste flushed down Jacksonville's toilets ends up in the river after its been treated and then pumped there by the Jacksonville Electric Authority, the flush fee would be a way that residents would help with the money required to clean up the river.

"One of the more outside-of-the-box (ideas) that we've heard about was this flush fee, where literally a couple of dollars is tacked on to a water and sewer bill every month. It really does directly tie because the nutrients in the river are of our origin," said Susie Wiles, spokeswoman for the mayor.

The plan is one of about 60 different approaches the city is considering, and would apply a small fee on all residents for using their bathrooms.

The flush fee is being used in Maryland, and officials think it could work in the river city. The goal would be to get rid of the pollutants that caused last year's algae bloom.

Residents had mixed feeling about the idea of a $2 to $3 charge being added to their JEA bill to help clean up the river.

"I definitely would not be comfortable with them assessing that. I think it is something that should come out from the city not from the actual taxpayer," one resident said.

"I would definitely... because environmentally we are going to pot and everybody needs to chip in and do what they can do," another resident said.

The St. Johns River is currently listed as the 20th most polluted river in the nation.