Willow Branch Creek is a well-known waterway located in a historic neighborhood of Jacksonville, FL. It is a tidal creek that widens into a canal and flows to the St. Johns River – the longest river in Florida and the only river in the state designated as an American Heritage River. From 1907 to 1928, Willow Branch Creek was home to the Florida Yacht Club, and currently boasts two city parks along its banks, Willow Branch Park and Yacht Basin Park. The creek is also home to a rich marine life (fish, turtles, crab, shrimp and an occasional alligator) and provides food for the many birds (ducks, hawks, osprey, eagles, egrets and herons) that fish in the creek. Unfortunately, the creek has been ignored by the city and the lack of attention over the past 100 years is easy to see in its overgrown banks, crumbling bulkhead and dirty stagnant water.

In April of 2013, the City of Jacksonville began a bridge project on Riverside Ave. to widen the road for a sidewalk over Willow Branch Creek. Two and a half years later, the project is still not complete. During construction, dams were breached by storms multiple times, and hundreds of cubic feet of dirt and construction debris were washed into the creek. The water in the creek is murky, it no longer flows freely, and it's unhealthy for humans, marine life and the birds that fish in the creek. The creek cleanup that was supposed to be part of the bridge project has not been done. The only way to return proper water flow from the St. Johns River and improve drainage is to remove the dirt that was dumped in the waterway, along with the silt and debris that has accumulated in the creek and the canal. In addition to the environmental hazards posed by the unhealthy water quality, local residents are also very concerned about flooding should a storm hit before the long-awaited cleanup has taken place.

Residents have met with city officials, sent emails, made phone calls and submitted online requests asking the city to take responsibility for the mess created by the bridge project and clean up the creek. An email response from the city’s Public Works Department dated September 8, 2015 stated: “A section of Willow Branch at the bridge construction site will be dredged under a consent order, which is pending issue by the Environmental Quality Division. Dredging other sections of the creek is not within the city’s scope of responsibility.”

We completely disagree. It is the City of Jacksonville’s responsibility to clean up the entire mess that was created by the City’s project, not just a portion of it.

For 100 years Willow Branch Creek has been ignored. It consistently has one of the highest levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the city and is considered a definite health risk for humans. Please sign the Clean Up Willow Branch Creek Petition and formally request that the City of Jacksonville takes full responsibility for the waterway and the doomed bridge project by cleaning up Willow Branch Creek from Willow Branch Park to the St. Johns River.

Read more about the ongoing issue through local media coverage:

Willowbranch Creek project cited for noncompliance, Resident Community News, July 11, 2013

Riverside road opening in sight at Willowbranch, Resident Community News, December 4, 2103

Negotiations place Willowbranch bridge work on uncertain ground, The Florida Times-Union, November 13, 2014

Residents question progress on over-budget, incomplete project, Resident Community News, August 3, 2015

Finished Avondale project still has another bridge to cross, The Florida Times-Union, September 4, 2015

Petition drive underway to spur action on Willow Branch Creek, Resident Community News, October 1, 2015

Stagnant water and action from city spurs Willow Branch Creek petition, The Florida Times-Union, October 14, 2015

Neighbors call for Willow Branch Clean Up, First Coast News, October 15, 2015