KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Vivian K. Katz-James paused after saying, “Black Creek is ready to roll,” seemingly unsure if she wasn’t preoccupied with yet another false sense of optimism.

After spending more than half of her adult life trying to restore the water levels at Lakes Brooklyn and Geneva to their levels of half a century ago, the Black Creek Water Resources Development Project is indeed ready to roll.

“Well, let’s put it this way: I started working on this in 1980,” the President of the Save Our Lakes Organization (SOLO) said, “so we’re ready to see results.”

Katz-James had plenty of reasons to be skeptical. It took decades and $100 million to make a project calling for pumping as many as 10 million gallons from the South Prong of the Black Creek at State Road 16 at Seamark Ranch, sending 17 miles through concrete pipes along SR 16 and State Road 21 to six filtration cells northwest of Keystone Heights, then into Alligator Creek, which flows into Lake Brooklyn. From there, the water would eventually overflow into Lake Geneva.

However, it was plagued by delays from the outset. There was a need to add a filtration system to remove brownish tannins from Black Creek. Then, there were supply chain delays caused by the pandemic and worldwide economic slowdown.

Two of the six cells are filled with water and operational, according to Dale Jenkins, Director of the Division of Infrastructure and Land Resources with the St. Johns River Water Management District. The third cell is 65% filled with water from Black Creek and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The process was also slowed in early June because the water levels in Black Creek weren’t high enough to activate the system, but those setbacks have been resolved by rain in the second half of June.

“Cells one and two are completely filled with media, and the plants are in place,” Jenkins told SJRWMD Board Members at their June 10 meeting. “And we’re also happy to report that we've run Black Creek water through both of those cells, and we've tested the effluent, and water quality meets all the criteria in the [Florida Department of Environmental Protection] permits. So, we are ready to put water into Alligator Creek, which would eventually flow to Lake Brooklyn, but we have to have enough flow of Black Creek, and we don't.”

There are other safeguards in place to protect the water levels of Black Creek from being compromised for the sake of the Lake Region.

Once considered a paradise for East Coast elites, Keystone Heights’ popularity waned as its water levels were drained by neglect, abuse and mismanagement. Wealthy families built second homes around lakes, such as Brooklyn, Geneva, Half Moon, Little Lake Keystone and Magnolia, Blue Pond and One Field Pond, to enjoy fishing, skiing, boating, mild winters, swimming and family gatherings.

Regional power companies pulled water from the aquifer to cool their thermoelectric power plants. The problem is that there are only two Florida aquifers that provide water recharged by rainfall from Georgia down to Central Florida. One is in Valdosta, Georgia. The other is the Keystone Heights Lake Region, including Lakes Brooklyn and Geneva.

Driven by SOLO and supported by former Florida Sen. Rob Bradley, Florida Reps. Travis Cummings and Bobby Payne, former St. Johns River Water Management District Chairman Douglas Burnett and former Keystone Heights City Manager Scott Kornegay, the project evolved from a pipe dream in 2017 to approval in 2022, with completion occurring earlier this month.

State, Keystone Heights officials, Clay County Board of County Commissioners, St. Johns River Water Management District, SOLO and four local utility companies – Clay County Utility Authority, Gainesville Regional Utilities, St. Johns Utilities and JEA – all chipped in to cover the $100 million price tag.

“All six cells should be completed by the end of 2025, then Black Creek will be fully functioning,” Katz-James said. “But even if it’s not at full capacity by the end of the year, I’ll still take it. I’ve waited, what, 45 years to say it’s ready. And it’s ready.”