Could raw sewage be leaking into backyards behind new development?

I-TEAM: Lawyer suspects JEA lift station, which pumps raw sewage, malfunctioning

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Homeowners living behind a new development who told the I-TEAM they are fed up with flooding in their backyards now say they have a new concern: the possibility of raw sewage overflowing from a nearby JEA lift station. 

Construction at the new development off San Jose Boulevard, called San Jose Estates in Lakewood, has been stalled for months because lawyers claim the developers disturbed the natural table when they bulldozed a preservation area to make room for houses. 

A local lawyer says he has the pictures to prove that a nearby lift station is being inundated with water during heavy rains because of a developer's miscalculation or mistake. He suspects the lift station, which pumps raw sewage, is malfunctioning and putting people’s health at risk. 

Photos of the JEA lift station were taken in heavy rains off Lavaca Road, next to the proposed San Jose Estates development. The images show the water level over the manhole at the center of the lift station -- which, according to Attorney Kevin Schoeppel, contains human waste. Schoeppel says the deluge of rainwater can lead to a lift station backing up. 

"We take the position that if it’s not raw sewage coming out at this time, at some time in the future, there will be raw sewage coming out," he said.

Schoeppel says to make way for a six-home residential development, the developers bulldozed 50-foot cypress trees and dense vegetation, which disturbed the natural water table. 

I-TEAM: Homeowner blames new construction for backyard flooding

When the plot of land was cleared, Schoeppel says his engineers determined the water table rose from 1½ feet above sea level to 4 feet above sea level, resulting in excess water and inundating the lift station and neighbors' yards.

"The biggest concern is that raw sewage is going north, which is towards us, across Lavaca Road and into a park, where kids are playing, and then into a creek that flows to the St. Johns River -- and it’s raw sewage," Schoeppel said. 

Homeowners living behind the development aren’t only concerned about the sewage and the flooding, they say the construction diminished their quality of life because they can’t use their own backyards. 

"The yard is flooding every time it rains. My kids aren't able to go outside and play anymore it's flooded so bad. We can't enjoy our yard anymore," homeowner Taylor Whittles said. "They weren’t supposed to build there in the first place. That’s wetlands. You cannot build on wetlands, and whoever gave them that permit shouldn’t have done it."

Schoeppel says his clients are suing the City of Jacksonville, the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Florida Department of Transportation and JEA. So, for now, the land sits bare and vacant, which the neighbors say they also consider an eyesore.

When the I-TEAM contacted JEA, the utility said it doesn't have any record of a sewage spill.

As of Friday afternoon, the I-TEAM was waiting to hear back from lawyers representing the city.


About the Author:

Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.