Author Archives: jsq

Water First North Florida wetland locations: unknown –SRWMD 2025-12-17

Here’s a bit more about the Water First North Florida (WFNF) billion dollar project to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin.

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) seems to know surprisingly little about this joint project with the St Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD).

They don’t know where the water would go into wetlands to “clean” it up some more, and they don’t know where it would go to infiltrate into the Floridan Aquifer.

They don’t have a pilot study and they don’t have wetland site assessments.

Turns out there are a couple of reasons why SRWMD does not know or have those things. But I have found out a few things.

And I have leads to find out much more.

[Water First North Florida wetland locations: unknown, No Pilot Study or Wetland Assessments, But here is the RFQ --SRWMD]
Water First North Florida wetland locations: unknown, No Pilot Study or Wetland Assessments, But here is the RFQ –SRWMD

Back on July 8, 2025, SRWMD Deputy Executive Director of Water Resources Amy Brown gave her board a Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Project Update. It included a few slides on the WFNF, aka North Florida Regional Recharge Project. Continue reading

Environmental groups urge GA-EPD to finalize forever chemical limits at least as stringent as 2024 federal limits 2025-12-17

We urge GA-EPD to set real limits on forever chemicals:

In sum, why should Georgia residents be left with no choice but to drink contaminated water just because their drinking water did not have the “correct” type of PFAS contamination? We don’t believe they should. Accordingly, we urge EPD to promulgate MCLs for all six of the federally regulated PFAS compounds that are at least as stringent as the April 10, 2024 federal regulations.

Since this letter is replete with footnotes, I’m only quoting the beginning and end here. You can find the entire letter on the WWALS website in PDF, and images of each page are appended below.

[Environmental groups urge GA-EPD to limit forever chemicals 2025-12-17, at least as stringent as 2024 federal limits]
Environmental groups urge GA-EPD to limit forever chemicals 2025-12-17, at least as stringent as 2024 federal limits

You can also write to EPDComments@dnr.ga.gov.

And you can also try EWG’s action page for U.S. EPA.

For what’s in your drinking water, see:
https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/

Here’s the beginning of the letter we sent to GA-EPD yesterday:

December 17, 2025

Veronica Craw, Chief
Watershed Protection Branch
Environmental Protection Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
EPDComments@dnr.ga.gov

Re: PFOA & PFOS Drinking Water Rule Updates

Dear Chief Craw:

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on EPD’s proposed drinking water updates to finalize drinking water regulations for two specific PFAS: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). While we appreciate EPD’s work to protect our drinking water supplies from these two harmful compounds, the rule should be—and must be— more stringent. As discussed in more detail below, EPD is obligated to adopt drinking water regulations that are just as stringent as federal law; the proposed rule falls short. Moreover, EPD has sampling data showing that public drinking water systems are contaminated with other federally regulated PFAS compounds that pose significant threats to human health and the environment. By choosing not to regulate these other PFAS compounds, EPD is putting the health of Georgians at serious risk.

These comments are submitted on behalf of Altamaha Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Coosa River Basin Initiative, Environment Georgia, Flint Riverkeeper, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, One Hundred Miles, Satilla Riverkeeper, Savannah Riverkeeper, Science for Georgia, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, Suwannee Riverkeeper, and Southern Environmental Law Center.

And here’s the end:

III. Proposing a new draft that adopts MCLs for all six PFAS is necessary to protect Georgia residents, especially where PFBS and PFHxS are the prevailing PFAS contaminants.

Adopting all six of the PFAS limits in the April 10, 2024 EPA rule is not just required by law; it’s good for all Georgians. As EPA explained in its press release announcing the six PFAS limits, “By reducing exposure to PFAS, this final rule will prevent thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of serious illnesses, including certain cancers and liver and heart impacts in adults, and immune and developmental impacts to infants and children.”31

Notably, EPD’s own data show that public drinking water systems in Georgia are contaminated with the very PFAS chemicals EPD now wants to omit from the safe drinking water rules. For instance, UCMR5 data and EPD’s PFAS Story Map show that drinking water systems serving hundreds of thousands of people in Augusta-Richmond County, Calhoun, Centerville, Chatsworth, Chickamauga, Dalton, Griffin, Lafayette, Lyerly, Ringgold, Rome, Spalding County, Summerville, Trion, Walker County, and Woodstock have all reported exceedances of the federal MCLs for PFHxS, PFBS, or the Hazard Index at various times between 2021 and 2024.32 In some of these drinking water systems, drinking water meets the MCLs for PFOA and PFOS but exceeds the MCLs for other PFAS like PFBS.

Critically, numerous public drinking water systems have yet to be tested for PFAS, so the true scope of the problem is unclear. By adopting a rule that regulates more than just two types of PFAS, EPD will ensure that the public knows whether their drinking water systems are contaminated with the most commonly used PFAS chemicals. EPD does a disservice to the people it serves if it allows drinking water systems to turn a blind eye and refrain from monitoring broadly for all six PFAS contaminants.

Furthermore, the proposed rule does nothing to incentivize industry to stop using harmful PFAS compounds like PFHxS, PFBS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA. The best way to stop PFAS contamination is to stop it at the source, but if industrial users know that drinking water utilities will not have to meet MCLs for these chemicals, they will continue to discharge PFAS- contaminated wastewater to publicly owned treatment works, emit PFAS into the air, and otherwise send these chemicals into our homes in household products. Stringent drinking water regulations would send a strong signal to industries operating in Georgia that they too need to play a role in fixing the problem they helped create.

In sum, why should Georgia residents be left with no choice but to drink contaminated water just because their drinking water did not have the “correct” type of PFAS contamination? We don’t believe they should. Accordingly, we urge EPD to promulgate MCLs for all six of the federally regulated PFAS compounds that are at least as stringent as the April 10, 2024 federal regulations.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss these comments further, please reach out to the undersigned at 404-521-9900 or jdegaetano@selc.org or alipscomb@selc.org.

Sincerely,

/s/ Joe DeGaetano
Joe DeGaetano
Senior Attorney

/s/ April Lipscomb
April Lipscomb
Senior Attorney

31 See Press Release, EPA, Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes First-Ever National Drinking Water Standard to Protect 100M People from PFAS Pollution (Apr. 10, 2024) https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-first-ever-national-drinking-water-standard [https://perma.cc/HW29-DQNP].

32 Georgia Environmental Protection Division, PFAS Information & Interactive Story Map, https://gaepd.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=e8f2c6a51c1c41088002350f1eabe598.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

[Re: PFOA & PFOS Drinking Water Rule Updates]
Re: PFOA & PFOS Drinking Water Rule Updates
PDF

[These chemicals build up in the human body, and have been shown to cause developmental effects to fetuses and infants, kidney and testicular cancer, liver malfunction, hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, obesity, decreased immune response to vaccines, reduced hormone levels, delayed puberty, and lower birth weight and size.]
These chemicals build up in the human body, and have been shown to cause developmental effects to fetuses and infants, kidney and testicular cancer, liver malfunction, hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, obesity, decreased immune response to vaccines, reduced hormone levels, delayed puberty, and lower birth weight and size.
PDF

[While the harms to human health are extreme, PFAS are also detrimental to wildlife and the environment.]
While the harms to human health are extreme, PFAS are also detrimental to wildlife and the environment.
PDF

[PFAS are extremely resistant to breaking down in the environment.]
PFAS are extremely resistant to breaking down in the environment.
PDF

[II. The proposed drinking water rules would violate federal law and jeopardize Georgia’s continued primary enforcement responsibility.]
II. The proposed drinking water rules would violate federal law and jeopardize Georgia’s continued primary enforcement responsibility.
PDF

[III. Proposing a new draft that adopts MCLs for all six PFAS is necessary to protect Georgia residents, especially where PFBS and PFHxS are the prevailing PFAS contaminants.]
III. Proposing a new draft that adopts MCLs for all six PFAS is necessary to protect Georgia residents, especially where PFBS and PFHxS are the prevailing PFAS contaminants.
PDF

[Accordingly, we urge EPD to promulgate MCLs for all six of the federally regulated PFAS compounds that are at least as stringent as the April 10, 2024 federal regulations.]
Accordingly, we urge EPD to promulgate MCLs for all six of the federally regulated PFAS compounds that are at least as stringent as the April 10, 2024 federal regulations.
PDF

EWGTW

[Tapwater Take Action 3, accessed 2025-12-18 --EWG]
Tapwater Take Action 3, accessed 2025-12-18 –EWG

Drought Workshop Presentation –SRWMD 2025-12-09

Update 2025-12-18: Water First North Florida wetland locations: unknown –SRWMD 2025-12-17.

In their Drought Conditions Workshop on December 9, 2025, SRWMD talked about starting an outreach campaign, “highlighting the water deficit that we are in, and our drought, and the need for efficiency, and here are some possible measures that you could implement, from a voluntary standpoint.”

But they are not yet willing to declare even the statutory Water Shortage Warning or Advisory, which has only voluntary measures.

[Drought Workshop Presentation --SRWMD 2025-12-09, No water withdrawal limits yet, Maybe an outreach campaign soon]
Drought Workshop Presentation –SRWMD 2025-12-09, No water withdrawal limits yet, Maybe an outreach campaign soon

If the current drought is not severe enough to warrant even a statutory Warning, why are SRWMD and SJRWMD forging ahead with their billion-dollar Water First North Florida project to pipe treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin to recharge the Floridan Aquifer here? And what is being done to remove the PFAS, drugs, and articifical sweeteners that typically pass right through wastewater treatment?

Thanks to SRWMD Board members Charles Keith, Larry Sessions, and William Lloyd, they did talk about possibly instituing limits on water withdrawals, considering that the past 10 years have been the hottest on record.

The presenter, Amy Brown, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources, was clear that they have not even advised voluntary limits for the biggest group of users, which are in agriculture.

Her slides, received from SRWMD in response to a WWALS public records request, are on the WWALS website, with images below in this post.

SRWMD Executive Director Hugh Thomas did note that the water withdrawal permits SRWMD issues have standard conditions that can require limits on water withdrawals. But “it’s never fun to engage with the permittee and say, hey, you’re going to have to cut back because we’re in a water shortage period.”

You can see Amy Brown, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources, present these slides to the SRWMD Board in their own video of their December 9, 2025, Workshop, at 1:45:58:

https://www.youtube.com/live/6LDIIdFqxaY?si=LnRZUqNL0imphDJz&t=6358

What about reducing water withdrawals?

At 2:14:10, you can hear Charles Keith asking about increasing drought. Continue reading

Okefenokee Swamp exchanges water with the Floridan Aquifer –peer-reviewed evidence 2025-12-09

University of Georgia (UGA) Professor Todd C. Rasmussen is back after 30 years with peer-reviewed double evidence that the Okefenokee Swamp does exchange water with the underlying Floridan Aquifer from which we all drink in south Georgia and north Florida.

[Okefenokee Swamp leaks water into the Floridan Aquifer --peer-reviewed evidence 2025-12-09, Mining withdrawals would make it worse]
Okefenokee Swamp leaks water into the Floridan Aquifer –peer-reviewed evidence 2025-12-09, Mining withdrawals would make it worse

This paper is more incentive to pass Georgia House Bill 561 to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining, at least on its east side. Georgians, please ask your statehouse delegation to pass HB 561. Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends and relatives to do the same. Here’s how to contact Georgia Statehouse members:

https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-house/

Here’s a video explaining the new paper by its first author Prof. Jaivime Evaristo, on YouTube, 2025-12-09, The Okefenokee is Not a Bathtub: A New Look at Wetland-Aquifer Coupling, Continue reading

Old Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12

This is not the historic bridge you can see today at Suwannee Springs.

It’s the one before that. The clue is the columns holding it up. Also the spring wall holding water.

[Site of Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12, Upstream from Historic 1931 Graffiti Bridge]
Site of Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12, Upstream from Historic 1931 Graffiti Bridge

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) posted this picture December 12, 2025. Continue reading

Hydrologic Conditions Report –SRWMD 2025-11-30

Update 2025-12-17: Drought Workshop Presentation –SRWMD 2025-12-09.

Every county in the Suwannee River Basin is in drought, according to SRWMD’s own Hydrologic Conditions Report for November 30, 2025 presented in their Board meeting of December 9, 2025.

But not droughty enough for SRWMD to declare even a voluntary Drought Warning, according to the Drought Workshop after the Board meeting. I have sent in a FOIA request for the Workshop slides. Both meetings are in the SRWMD YouTube post for 2025-12-09.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LDIIdFqxaY

Meanwhile, here is the SRWMD Hydrologic Conditions Report for November 2025, plus some related information.

Such as SRWMD actually does have “Year-Round Lawn & Landscape Irrigation Measures,” but nobody seems to know about them. And that page does not seem to include agricultural, mining, or water bottling water use. Continue reading

Picture: Meet and greet at Georgia Beer Company, 2025-11-09

Sara Squires Jones reported, “It went well; we had a pretty good turnout. Thunderstorms ran most of the folks off, but we had a few hang around to see a rainbow. Unfortunately I forgot the banner so we didn’t get a group photo.”

[Rainbow over WWALS Social 2025-11-09, at Georgia Beer Co., Valdosta, GA]
Rainbow over WWALS Social 2025-11-09, at Georgia Beer Co., Valdosta, GA

That was the WWALS Social at Georgia Beer Company, Sunday, November 9, 2025. Thanks to Sara Jay for organizing. Thanks to Janet Martin for scheduling it, even though she couldn’t be there. Continue reading

Clean Rivers and Creeks, except Hightower Creek 2025-12-11

The Withlacoochee River tested pretty clean this week, as did the Santa Fe River, and the Ichetucknee River for Friday last week.

Even Valdosta’s problem Sugar Creek and One Mile Branch tested OK.

But Hightower Creek was bad in Valdosta Utilities’ result, although the WWALS result the same day at the same site was OK.

It appears there is still some other source of sewage upstream of St. Augustine Road into Hightower Creek.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week for the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida, although FDEP’s Pollution Notice reporting is half broken: see below.

No rain is predicted for the next ten days.

So if you can find a river with enough water, and you don’t mind cold and rain, happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

This image is an overview. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe Rivers, Mostly Good 2025-12-11, OK One Mile Branch and Sugar Creek, But not Hightower Creek]
Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe Rivers, Mostly Good 2025-12-11, OK One Mile Branch and Sugar Creek, But not Hightower Creek

Sugar Creek and its feeder creeks

For Thursday at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek, Valdosta Utilities got 535 cfu/100 mL, which is above the one-time test limit of 410 for E. coli, although well below their last week result of 2,500, which was above the 1,000 alert limit.

However, WWALS tester Suzy Hall got 366 for the same site the same day. We don’t know why these results are so different. It could be simply time of day: Suzy sampled at 11:40 AM and Valdosta typically samples (as far as we know) early in the morning. Which of course still doesn’t explain why they would be so different. Is there some upstream sewage leak that changes by time of day?

Downstream on Sugar Creek, Valdosta Utilities got 235 at Gornto Road and Suzy Hall got 180 at the WaterGoat, so those two results agree pretty closely.

Maybe Stones Aquatic clearing deadfalls out of Sugar Creek from Gornto Road to the WaterGoat last week helped, especially with the weekend rains to wash that stretch cleaner of residual sewage.
https://wwals.net/?p=68981

Valdosta Utilities also got an OK result of 140 at West Gordon Street, upstream of Sugar Creek on One Mile Branch. And they got a good 120 at Wainwright Drive, below the 126 three-test-average limit.

Valdosta Utilities switched to sampling its creeks after a different set of sewage spill, the one August 23, 2025 of 20,000 gallons into One Mile Branch at Wainwright Drive. Valdosta has since replaced both manholes at Wainwright Drive with taller ones, so maybe that is finally starting to have an effect of reduced sewage in the creeks.
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities/river-stream-water-quality-data/august-2025-sanitary-sewer-spills

Thanks for that, and here’s hoping they keep doing that each week.

Posting results a bit earlier would also be good. When I checked about 5 PM Friday, they still weren’t up, and I had an appointment the rest of the evening, so you’re getting this report Saturday morning.

Also, Valdosta could take back up testing the Withlacoochee River down to the state line, plus Okapilco Creek, as they stopped doing after the four years required in the 2020 GA-EPD Consent Order. This would be to the advantage of the City of Valdosta, because such results help find sewage spills, and they also demonstrate when the creeks and rivers are clean, and when there are problems that are not Valdosta’s fault.

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results rainfall and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet.

[Chart: Clean Rivers Creeks Dirty Hightower Creek 2025-12-11 --WWALS Excerpt, Composite Spreadsheet]
Chart: Clean Rivers Creeks Dirty Hightower Creek 2025-12-11 –WWALS Excerpt, Composite Spreadsheet Continue reading

Alapaha Sturgeon Rescue –Kenneth Sulak 2010-09-12

Ken Sulak sent this story today, about rescuing Gulf Sturgeon from the dry bed of the Alapaha River, back in September 2010.

The Alapaha River often goes dry in late summer and fall, because what little water it has after evapotranspiration goes down the Dry River distributary into the Dead River Sink, and only emerges about 19 miles downstream at the Alapaha River Rise and Holton Creek Rise, both on the Suwannee River upstream from the Alapaha River Confluence.

Dug deep into photo files – found a few images from 12-13 Sept 2010 rescue of 4-5 sturgeon stranded in a pool in the otherwise dry Alapaha. I no longer have access to USGS files since the current regime has decided to cutoff all retired emeritus scientists from their stored data. So I could not determine exactly where this was located, exact number of fish rescued, or their lengths. This was a 2-day effort. I will ask Mike Randall to pull up the field logs and see if he can find the relevant data.

[Sturgeon Rescue from Dry Alapaha River --Kenneth Sulak while at USGS, September 12-13 2010]
Sturgeon Rescue from Dry Alapaha River –Kenneth Sulak while at USGS, September 12-13 2010

We drove in on an SRWMD gated entry using one of their ATVs, followed a trail along riverbank, then up the dry river bed by 4-wheel ATV. Mike Randall and I waded into the pool with large landing nets (the smallest net shown here) and also a two-brail seine. After a lot of chasing the fish around we managed to net them all. I was in the water to begin with, but then took photos while the younger guys chased the fish around and managed to capture them. That was not easy. Continue reading

Videos: Part 3, Knights Ferry to Nankin Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2025-11-22

Here’s Part 3, in which Melissa Stewart retrieves a yellow toy ramp, jsq chainsaws, there was a drizzle, we went through the rapids to get to Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp, and Darrell Stewart planted water trail signs.

The whole thing took about nine hours, with the paddle taking about 6.5 hours.

The 200-or-so pounds of trash collected included Melissa’s RCA TV from the river and another TV found at Nankin Boat Ramp.

Thanks to Will Hart and Scotti Jay for leading this paddle, and to all for participating.

[Part 3, Knights Ferry to Clyattville-Nankin, Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2025-11-12]
Part 3, Knights Ferry to Clyattville-Nankin, Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2025-11-12

Here are some video clips:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1255447706414873

https://youtu.be/T_QOEz8Eb7o Continue reading