Category Archives: Agriculture

Drought in Suwannee River Basin? 2025-11-17

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Why hasn’t SRWMD declared a drought yet?

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire Suwannee River Basin in both Georgia and Florida is in drought.

If I’m not mistaken, a drought declartion by the Suwannee River Water Management District would mean numerous water withdrawal permit holders would have to reduce their withdrawals.

With the Floridan Aquifer and intermediate aquifers already low, reducing withdrawals would be prudent before some wells run dry and sinkholes appear.

SRWMD posted their monthly press release about the Hydrologic Conditions Report on November 17, 2025.

[Drought in Suwannee River Basin? Low Rain, Rivers, and Wells 2025-11-17, Aquifer starting to be low, What is the threshold?]
Drought in Suwannee River Basin? Low Rain, Rivers, and Wells 2025-11-17, Aquifer starting to be low, What is the threshold?

In the linked October 2025 Hydrologic Conditions Report, page 2:

CLIMATE AND DROUGHT OUTLOOK

La Niña conditions are present and favored to persist from December 2025 to February 2026, with a 55% chance of ENSO-neutral transition between January and March 2026.

The NOAA three-month seasonal outlook suggests above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation within the District from November 2025 to January 2026.

The U.S. Drought Monitor report released on Thursday, November 6th, shows Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions in the southern Levy County, Moderate Drought (D1) and Severe Drought (D2) indices across most central District counties, and Extreme Drought (D3) in all of Hamilton and parts of Suwannee, Columbia, Madison, and Jefferson counties.

That DM report was two weeks ago. And the Drought Monitor report released today, November 20, 2025, with data valid through November 18, 2025, shows Extreme Drought through all the Suwannee River Basin counties along the GA-FL line, adding parts of Baker, Alachua, and Lafayette to the above list, and Severe or Moderate Drought for the rest. Even Levy County no longer has any D0 conditions: it is completely D1 for Moderate Drought. Continue reading →

Pictures: Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL 2025-11-08

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It was fun in White Springs, Florida, at a festival of crafts, music, and dancing.

Thanks to Russ Tatum of Hamilton County for helping at the WWALS booth, where we talked to many people and moved some stickers, hats, and an aerial Suwannee River Basin poster.

Many children played the froggy toss and got candy for each beanbag they got in the lily pad hole.

[WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL, 2025-11-08]
WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL, 2025-11-08

Thanks to Suwannee Hardware & Feed for hosting this event, with demonstrations ranging from glass blowing to sugar cane grinding. Continue reading →

Formal Complaint and Demand for Investigation Re Bradford Road –Della Gladieux 2025-11-04

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This is the formal complaint Della Gladieux submitted to the Berrien County Commission at the meeting on November 4, 2025.

[Formal Complaint... Regarding Rezoning ... Bradford Road --Della Gladieux to Berrien County Commission 2025-11-04]
Formal Complaint… Regarding Rezoning … Bradford Road –Della Gladieux to Berrien County Commission 2025-11-04

Della Gladieux
1595 Bradford Road
Ray City, GA 31645

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Berrien County Board of Commissioners
John Nugent, Post 1
Ronnie Gaskins, Post 2
Jimmy Parker, Post 3
Kylon Fort, Post 4
Pixie Harrod, Post 5
Brenda Ferrell, County/Clerk/Administrator
Jennifer Herzog, County Attorney
201 N. Davis Street, Room
Nashville, GA 31639

Re: Formal Complaint and Demand for Investigation Regarding Rezoning of Property at Old Valdosta Highway and Bradford Road, Parcel ID #M&P 061-14-000

Dear Parties Listed Above,

This letter serves as a formal complaint regarding the rezoning of property located at Old Valdosta Highway and Bradford Road (parcel: 061-14-000), which was changed from an agricultural use to a residential use on October 15, 2025 2024. This action is invalid due to significant procedural and ethical violations of Georgia law.

The specific grounds for this complaint are as follows:

Continue reading →

WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL 2025-11-08

Come on down to White Springs, Florida, for a festival of crafts, music, and dancing.

Suwannee Hardware & Feed is hosting this event. WWALS will be there with the usual booth, with Russ Tatum of Hamilton County leading.

When: 9 AM-4 PM, Saturday, November 8, 2025

Put In: Suwannee Hardware & Feed, 10572 Bridge Street, White Springs, FL 32096

[WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL, 2025-11-08]
WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL, 2025-11-08

Continue reading →

Videos: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision 2025-10-16

Update 2025-10-21: Subdivisions in agricultural areas cause financial problems –Della Gladieux to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16.

The Berrien Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of the proposed subdividing on Bradford Road.

However, that only applies to part of what (almost) everybody thought was being considered. It turns out the three lots at the corner of Bradford Road and Old Valdosta Highway were already divided out in October 2024.

Yet there are still many issues of urban sprawl and its costs, stormwater runoff, etc.

The Chairman not only moved to recommend denial, he also said the county should stop approving subdivisions until a Comprehensive Land Use Plan can be drawn up and enforced.

[Videos: Public Hearing, Berrien Planning Commission, Bradford Road subdividing, Part already subdivided in 2024, Rest recommended denial 2025-10-16]
Videos: Public Hearing, Berrien Planning Commission, Bradford Road subdividing, Part already subdivided in 2024, Rest recommended denial 2025-10-16

Applicant Cole Livingston and his attorney Danny Studstill said that when the applicant bought the property in an online auction, he understood that all agency permits were already in order. Also, the corner tracts were subdivided before he bought them.

Zoning Administrator Teresa Willis said those corner tracts were heard in the “9-19-24” Planning Commission meeting, and that the subdividing was approved in the October 2024 County Commission meeting. For more about that, see below after the WWALS videos of this October 2025 meeting.

It all still adds up to plopping ten houses in the middle of an agriculture character area, with runoff and recharge issues that affect the neighbors, Gin Branch Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and groundwater down to the Floridan Aquifer.

Chair Parrish Akins clarified that all the previous testimony in the preceding two Public Hearings was still valid. Then he asked for further comment for or against.

Della Gladieux supplied a tome of objections. Continue reading →

Video: Sweet William Ennis, Palatka, FL, a Folk song, Suwannee Cracker Cowboys 2025-09-06

Thanks to Sweet William Ennis of Palatka, Florida, for writing and performing his Folk song, “Suwannee Cracker Cowboys,” at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2025. Billy also handled sound.
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2025

About Billy Ennis:

“Sweet William” Ennis is a singer-songwriter who has lived in Palatka Florida for over three decades. His personally original songs written over the span of fifty years covers multi genres and subjects including the environment, love & war with a heavy dose of Blues. 2019 quarter finalist in the Memphis International Blues Challenge, 2021 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 1st place winner and 2018 Santa Fe River Song Contest 3rd place winner, Sweet William is very active in the Florida music community and recognized for organizing volunteer music events supporting soup kitchens, assisted living facilities and worthy fund raisers.

[Sweet William Ennis, Palatka, FL, with a Folk song, 2025-09-06, Suwannee Cracker Cowboys, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest]
Sweet William Ennis, Palatka, FL, with a Folk song, 2025-09-06, Suwannee Cracker Cowboys, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

About Billy’s song:

The Suwannee Cowboys, a tour through Suwannee Basin’s Cracker History.

Here’s Sweet William Ennis singing his song:
https://youtu.be/HqpYrufXq4E?si=PQtLUgZGmSiO2kff Continue reading →

Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16

Update 2025-10-20: Videos: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision 2025-10-16.

After it was tabled a second time, there’s yet another Public Hearing about plopping ten houses in the middle of an agriculture character area, with runoff and recharge issues that affect the neighbors, Gin Branch Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and groundwater down to the Floridan Aquifer. As well as all the usual issues of trespassing, poaching, pets, livestock, traffic, and road erosion.

Plus transparency and the Berrien Planning Commission should follow the Berrien County Code and Comprehensive Plan.

The farther out from existing services, the more a subdivision costs the county in calls on Sheriff Deputies, Fire Rescue, school buses and places at the schools. Property taxes on those houses would not pay for all that. The rest of Berrien County would have to pay the difference.

[Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, Thursday, October 16, 2025]
Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, Thursday, October 16, 2025

For what happened at the previous Public Hearing and why it was tabled, see previous post:
https://wwals.net/?p=68463

Here’s a facebook event to encourage people to come to this Public Hearing:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1476163917000214/

This is what the Public Notices on the roads say:

PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Hearing:

Cole Livingston, Subdividing multiple lots off the Old Valdosta Hwy, Bradford Rd and Strawder Rd
Ray City, Ga 31645

Time: 5:30 October 16, 2025 Planning Commission Meeting
6:00 pm November 4, 2025 County Commissioners Meeting

Public Hearing

Location: Planning Commission 201 N. Davis Street Nashville GA
County Commissioner’s Board Room 201 North Davis Street Nashville Ga 31639 Continue reading →

Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers 2025-05-25

Update 2025-10-03: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers 2025-10-02.

WWALS testers found the Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers clean this week.

Upstream of the Withlacoochee River, WWALS got surprisingly high E. coli results on Cat Creek and Beatty Branch for Thursday samples. Beatty Branch water at Cat Creek Road smelled like cattle manure. More tests will be necessary to see where that is coming from.

WWALS found Sugar Creek OK. But Valdosta once again got much higher results for Sugar Creek, Meanwhile, Valdosta and WWALS results upstream at US 41 and Langdale Park were pretty close together. And this week’s WWALS Sugar Creek results are similar to last week’s WWALS results. We’ve never seen this kind of discrepancy between Valdosta and WWALS results before.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee GA 133 was OK by Valdosta, which is strange considering Valdosta’s Sugar Creek results.

Valdosta had a tiny 2,000-gallon sewage spill onto dry land Monday at its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). No other new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Downstream from the WWTP at US 84 was OK by Valdosta. A WWALS test was even better farther downstream on the Withlacoochee River, near the Suwannee River.

There was no rain for a week before these samples, but it rained later Thursday, and more rain is predicted this weekend. So more contamination may wash into the waterways.

I’d avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River near it, But if you can beat the rain, happy paddling, boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

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

[Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek 2025-05-25, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers, Withlacoochee clean downstream]
Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek 2025-05-25, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers, Withlacoochee clean downstream

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. Continue reading →

Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing –WWALS to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18

Update 2025-10-07: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16.

I handed this letter to the Berrien Planning Commissioners and the Zoning Administrator before I spoke to them at the recent Public Hearing. They tabled this item for another month, awaiting more documents from the applicant, Cole Livingston, for his proposal to subdivide for ten houses in an agricultural character area on Bradford and Strawder Roads and Old Valdosta Highway, in Berrien County, Georgia, draining to Gin Branch Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing, WWALS 2025-09-18, to Berrien Planning Commission]
Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing, WWALS 2025-09-18, to Berrien Planning Commission

September 18, 2025

To: Teresa Willis
Berrien County Zoning Administrator
229-686-2149
twillis@berriencountyga.gov
201 N. Davis Street Room 122
Nashville GA 31639

Re: Subdividing M&P 061-14-000, 061-16-002, Old Valdosta Rd. & Bradford Rd.

Dear Berrien County Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission,

Please recommend denial of the proposed subdividing, because:

  1. House lots would produce more runoff, which would run onto neighboring properties, as attested by several neighbors at the previous Public Hearing on August 21, 2025. See attached LIDAR map and attached wetland and flood zone map.
  2. Runoff would carry trash and other contamination into Gin Branch Creek that runs north across Bradford Road and west into the Withlacoochee River. See attached map of Gin Branch Creek.
  3. Under Bradford Road and along Gin Branch Creek is an aquifer recharge zone, into the groundwater from which we all drink. We do not need to risk more contaminants possibly getting into that. See attached aquifer recharge map.
  4. Increased traffic and runoff would erode Bradford and Strawder Roads, requiring more work by the county to fix them.
  5. The houses would not be accessory to farm operations as in the Berrien County Comprehensive Plan Strategy for an Agriculture Character Area, which says: Continue reading →

Road costs, well risks, taxpayers should decide –Lisa Sumner for Wayne Nash 2025-09-18

Update 2025-09-22: Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing –WWALS to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18.

The information Lisa Sumner presented to the Greater Berrien Planning Commission Thursday on behalf of Wayne Nash is on the WWALS website. This was in opposition to the proposed subdivision on Bradford and Strawder Roads and Old Valdosta Road in Berrien County, Georgia, draining into Gin Branch Creek to the Withlacoochee River, through an aquifer recharge zone above the Floridan Aquifer.

Images of each page are below.

[Road costs, well risks, taxpayers should decide --Lisa Sumner for Wayne Nash 2025-09-18 @ Berrien Planning Commission]
Road costs, well risks, taxpayers should decide –Lisa Sumner for Wayne Nash 2025-09-18 @ Berrien Planning Commission

I’ve also enlarged Wayne Nash’s groundwater withdrawal permit, which shows “Well Design Pumping Capacity 600 gallons per minute.” Continue reading →