14-acre lagoon planned for STJC development

[lastdaysoffla]

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/man-made-lagoon-planned-for-st-johns-county-will-be-largest-in-state-ceo-says/502261424

A crystal-clear, 14-acre lagoon will soon be built in the Twin Creeks development in St. Johns County.

Uri Man, the CEO of Crystal lagoons in the U.S., says this lagoon will be the largest in Florida and will bring a beach-like area to those who would have been landlocked in their community.

Man says this lagoon will set Twin Creeks apart from other housing developments in the area — and will serve as a catch basin for rain too.

St. Johns County resident Patty Conklin says she’s seen the area grow and thinks the lagoon will bring more people to the area.
 
“I think if they can bring something huge like that, it would bring more tourists,” Conklin said.

Man says the lagoons usually have a depth of 8-10 feet and give people the chance to swim and take part in water sports.

The groundbreaking will be March 23. Developers told Action News Jax they will be there to give out more details and pictures of what’s to come.

Ponte Vedra Beach? Vilano? Anastasia Island? Along the river? Nope on CR 210...


Developers are going wild in STJC

[remc86007]

Doesn't look like a very environmentally friendly thing to do. Where are they going to get the millions of gallons to fill this thing and keep it full as it constantly evaporates?

[lastdaysoffla]

I suppose they are calling retention ponds lagoons these days.

But yes not environmentally friendly in the least. Imagine the impact on the hydrology of the area?

[edjax]

The following was taken from an article in St. John's business journal when it was first announced last year.

According to Crystal Lagoons, their lagoons use 30 times less water than a typical 18-hole golf course and 50 percent less water than a park of the same size. Crystal Lagoons can use almost any type of water: fresh, salt, brackish, well water and more since its technology uses disinfection pulses that allow using up to 100 times less chemicals than swimming pools and also uses an ultrasonic filtration system that allows using up to 50 times less energy than conventional filtration systems.

[remc86007]

I'd like to see their utility bill after a few months of operation to check on how the film is holding up.

If I had invented "anti-evaporation" film that really worked, I wouldn't be contracting to build one pond at a time around the world; I'd be licensing my patent to companies everywhere...

[thelakelander]

I'm surprised this actually materialized with the real thing only 15 miles away.

[remc86007]

I'm surprised this actually materialized with the real thing only 15 miles away.

Yeah, but all the good restaurants in Riverside/Avondale are only 15 miles from the chains at the town center, and we know where more people go to eat.

Do they all get easements to allow their use of the pond in perpetuity? If it is in fact swimmable, the potential safety problems seem like a liability issue. What if "Crystal Lagoons" is shut down by the EPA or is sued out of existence? I guess at least you'd have a nice sized skate park in your backyard.

[Captain Zissou]

Anybody find the max depth anywhere?  I have looked in a few articles and can't find it.  This would be great for scuba training if it's deeper than 20 feet.

[acme54321]

I saw another article this morning that said 8-10' max is typical.

[lastdaysoffla]

I'd like to see their utility bill after a few months of operation to check on how the film is holding up.

If I had invented "anti-evaporation" film that really worked, I wouldn't be contracting to build one pond at a time around the world; I'd be licensing my patent to companies everywhere...

I'd like to know the maintenance costs over a twenty or thirty year period. How long until this thing ends up looking like a swamp?

[acme54321]

Same people that built this one over 10 years ago:  https://goo.gl/maps/UB1cTa6agxo

They aren't going into uncharted territory so that's good.  They have one under construction in Miami now.

[FlaBoy]

They are also building one of these in Pasco near Wesley Chapel/New Tampa.

[acme54321]

I wonder if they line these things.  They're basically giant swimming pools.  It does seem like a serious investment/gamble for a developer, it has to be mega $$$.

[Jason]

Folks, just read up on the lagoons here:
http://www.crystal-lagoons.com/

[Tacachale]

They built something like this in Pasco County near Tampa. I don't know anything about the technology, but apparently that giant pool requires less water total than a golf course takes for a single year. If that's true, its environmental impact would be less than some of the thing we build without blinking an eye.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/construction-of-giant-crystal-lagoon-swimming-pool-in-wesley-chapel-to/2272966