Residents ‘unhappy’ with JEA’s installation of dead grass during septic tank phase-out program

By Best Plumbers On Jan 28, 2024

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM investigated concerns about the City of Jacksonville and JEA's septic phase-out program in several neighborhoods. As the project nears completion, a family is dissatisfied with the way their yard looks after construction.

RELATED: I-TEAM: Jacksonville allocates more money for septic phase-out program

Honey Holzendorf said she and neighbors on Ribault Scenic Drive were unhappy with the installation of bahia grass, which she said was dead compared to the rest of her yard.

“Like for example [expletive] “Is that really the case?” said Holzendorf in her first reaction when she came home to see the grass.

A JEA contractor laid down the grass in her front yard and other yards last week after JEA and the city of Jacksonville dug up the ground to connect about 480 homes in the Beverly Hills neighborhood to city sewers.

Holzendorf says she had St. Augustine grass before construction and doesn't think the Bahia grass will ever be green.

“If yes [root] It will be a miracle, it wasn’t even on pallets, it was on a roll,” Holzendorf said.

Her neighbors expressed similar concerns.

“I'm like, 'Why in God's name would they put dead grass like that, it looks terrible,'” said one neighbor.

A JEA spokesperson told the I-TEAM that the Holzendorfer grass prior to construction was not St. Augustine grass, but a mixture of several species. That's why they say the developers chose Bahia grass, which JEA officials say is standard in Jacksonville. JEA told News4JAX they will honor the homeowner's request and wrote the following in response:

In terms of grass restoration, JEA restores what was previously most abundant in the customer's yard and grows best without irrigation. The customers at Ribault Scenic Drive contacted our contractor on 01/17/24 regarding their grass species inquiry. At that time, the contractor agreed to install St. Augustine grass as requested.

JEA spokesperson

The Holzendorfs tell the I-TEAM that the contractor agreed to lay down St. Augustine grass after seeing a News4JAX vehicle in the neighborhood.

To provide an overview of the program's progress, the areas in northwest Jacksonville highlighted in blue are neighborhoods where the septic tank project is complete or near completion.

Next, the septic tanks in the districts marked yellow must be replaced. Although it will be years away, they include portions of the west side near the Ortega River, the south side near Emerson, St. Nicholas and along Julington Creek.

The Jacksonville and JEA Septic Phase-Out Program. In the blue areas the project is complete or almost complete. Yellow areas mean they are next to work. (Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.)

As for the lawn in the Beverly Hills neighborhood – a spokesperson for JEA said they will soon be replacing the Bahia grass in the neighborhood, but wants homeowners to know that they are waiting for ideal weather conditions to ensure the lawn thrives.