It might not be the prettiest project under construction from a layman's aesthetic perspective. It's infrastructure after all.

But it will be crucial when residents turn on the faucet in Northwest St. Johns County for a drink of water.

The JEA Rivertown Water Treatment Plant is a significant facility being built to serve the rapidly growing northern St. Johns County where new homes and businesses are sprouting like mushrooms after a spring rain, including RiverTown, a new 4,170-acre master-planned community along the St. Johns River in Saint Johns.

The addition of the new water treatment facility "will support future growth in St. Johns County, while providing improved water pressure and system reliability to all of our customers in the area," JEA told the Times-Union in an email.

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Construction began on Oct. 1, 2021, at the site in the RiverTown development near Bartram Trail High School.

Since then, crews have drilled and built three raw water supply wells, installed a stormwater detention pond, built a 2-million-gallon storage tank, installed the concrete foundation for an emergency generator, and installed underground piping.

The ongoing construction includes a high-service pump station, the installation of a security fence and the construction of on-site roads.

The first phase — Well No. 1 and the ground storage tank — should be completed next month. The second phase, which is the remaining water treatment plant construction, is on track for August.

JEA said the final phase should be completed this November.

JEA agreed to limit the withdrawal of water from the new wells to an average daily flow (ADF) of 1.5 million gallons per day.

The three new wells and daily withdrawal limits were identified previously by JEA and the county in a 2006Memorandum of Understanding, according to background information provided to the commission in preparation for the 2021 request.

JEA Rivertown Water Treatment Plant

• Address: 7612 Longleaf Pine Parkway in Saint Johns

• Location: RiverTown development

• Construction began: Oct. 1, 2021

• Work completed: Three raw water supply wells, stormwater detention pond, 2-million-gallon storage tank, concrete foundation for an emergency generator, and underground piping

• Ongoing work: Construction of a high-service pump station, installation of a security fence and on-site roads.

• Projected completion: First phase, April 2023; second phase, August 2023; and final phase, November 2023

• Estimated construction cost: About $18 million

• Owner: JEA

• General contractor: Williams Industrial Services headquartered in Atlanta

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JEA Rivertown water plant in the works for growing St. Johns County