Tag Archives: north Florida

Clean Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek 2025-11-26

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Update 2025-12-05: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers; dirty Sugar Creek and One Mile Branch 2025-12-04.

Update 2025-12-05: Clearing logjams from Sugar Creek –Juston Stone 2025-12-02.

Even upstream, the Withlacoochee River tested pretty clean this week.

And Sugar Creek and its feeder creeks tested pretty clean, except at Gornto Road.

This is according to Valdosta Utilities results, which match the weekend results previously reported from WWALS testers.

Apparently the effects of the small Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek Wednesday last week have washed out of the Withlacoochee River downstream.

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

[Clean Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek, No new sewage spills, No rain 2025-11-26]
Clean Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek, No new sewage spills, No rain 2025-11-26

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia since the small Valdosta spill into Sugar Creek on Wednesday, November 11, 2025.

No rain is predicted until Tuesday.

So if you can find enough water, happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

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 Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek 2025-11-26]
Chart: Clean Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek 2025-11-26 Continue reading →

Survey: Outstanding Florida Springs 2025-11-24

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Alex Krest, a student at the University of South Florida, is conducting an Outstanding Florida Springs Survey.

It’s fifteen questions, online:

https://forms.office.com/r/cNQrJP2uRw

[Ofs-survey-qrcode]
Ofs-survey-qrcode

You can help out a student and maybe indirectly help do something about Florida springs.

 -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/

Clean Withlacoochee River downstream 2025-11-22

Update 2025-11-28: Clean Withlacoochee River, Mostly Clean Sugar Creek 2025-11-26.

Better news from two recent Withlacoochee River water quality samples.

Apparently the effects of the small Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek Wednesday have washed out of the Withlacoochee River downstream, at least where we tested.

Suzy Hall got zero (0) E. coli for Friday at State Line Boat Ramp, aka Mozell Spells.

John S. Quarterman got 100 cfu/100 mL for Saturday nine miles upstream at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp.

Those are both less than the 126 cfu/100 mL three-test average limit, so quite clean.

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

[Clean downstream Withlacoochee River, State Line 2025-11-21, Nankin Boat Ramp 2025-11-22]
Clean downstream Withlacoochee River, State Line 2025-11-21, Nankin Boat Ramp 2025-11-22

Nankin Boat Ramp is also 15 river miles downstream from US 84 and 27 miles downstream from GA 133 where Valdosta Utilities got way-too-high E. coli for Thursday. And about 30 miles downstream from Sugar Creek, where WWALS tester Suzy Hall got even worse Too Numerous to Count (TNTC) for Wednesday.

These new WWALS results match the zero (0) that WWALS tester Russ Tatum got for Wednesday at Holly Point, on the Withlacoochee River in Florida a few miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

So if you can find enough water, happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing, at least downstream on the Withlacoochee River.

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 →

Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek –WCTV 2025-11-20

Update 2025-11-25: Clean Withlacoochee River downstream 2025-11-22.

The WCTV report includes:

Earlier this year, the North Florida Rivers Task Force met with Valdosta leaders about several spills along the same water way.

One riverkeeper said he wants to see more improvements.

[Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek, Suwannee Riverkeeper --WCTV 2025-11-20]
Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek, Suwannee Riverkeeper –WCTV 2025-11-20

“The positive side is they seem to be getting smaller, so that is good,” executive director of [WWALS Watershed Coalition] John Quarterman said. “Valdosta utilities fixed it pretty quick and they put out a press release as well, in less than 24 hours, so that is good. Of course, nobody is going to be happy until there are no more sewage spills.”

See Mishalynn Brown, WCTV, Nov. 20, 2025, Sewage spill reported in Sugar Creek, Valdosta utilities says: The utilities department advised that residents avoid the area.

Thanks to WCTV producer Michael Clark for interviewing me via zoom. I must work on my halo.

The WCTV report starts by reviewing the Valdosta press release, which Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River upstream; downstream and Alapaha River OK 2025-11-20

Update 2025-11-25: Clean Withlacoochee River downstream 2025-11-22.

Update 2025-11-23: Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek –WCTV 2025-11-20.

Apparently the small Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek Wednesday affected that creek and the Withlacoochee River more than expected.

WWALS tester Suzy Hall for Wednesday got TNTC (Too Numerous to Count) at the WaterGoat, just before the river. Downstream on the river, Valdosta Utilities for Thursday got 2,670 at GA 133 and 1,035 at US 84, both higher than the 1,000 alert limit for E. coli.

Yet WWALS tester Russ Tatum got zero (0) for Wednesday at Holly Point, on the Withlacoochee River in Florida a few miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

Also for Wednesday, WWALS tester Heather Brasell got OK results for the Alapaha River at Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82. WWALS testers Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler got good tentative results at their Santa Fe River site upstream from Poe Springs.

Of course, the high results could be due to the so far unknown source upstream of St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek.

No other sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in the past week in Georgia or Florida, so far as we can tell, although FDEP’s Pollution Reports web page and map are both not working corectly. At least we didn’t get any emailed reports for Florida this week.

No rain is expected for the next ten days.

So I’d avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River near it. Other than that, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend. If you can find enough water to do those things. Maybe far downstream on the Withlacoochee or Suwannee Rivers.

Or join us tomorrow for Knights Ferry to Nankin Clean Up, Withlacoochee River 2025-11-22.

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

[Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River upstream, downstream and Alapaha River OK, 2025-11-20]
Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River upstream, downstream and Alapaha River OK, 2025-11-20

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 →

Low water at the first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp 2025-11-20

Looks like you could paddle through the Suwannee River Sill, but it’s not clear how far you would get through the Narrows below Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp before you got to the Sill.

[Low water, first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp, Thursday, November 20, 2025]
Low water, first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp, Thursday, November 20, 2025

Yesterday Shirley Kokidko checked on water levels in the Suwannee River in the Okefenokee Swamp. She says there is enough water to paddle to Billys Island or Minnies Lake.

Until we get some rain to break this drought, paddling from SCFSP to Griffis Fish Camp will be doubtful.

Here is a video Shirley sent from the First Gate at the Suwannee River Sill, the 4.5-mile-long earthen dam that was supposed to keep water levels up in the Okefenokee Swamp to prevent fires, but did not work.

https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/854041060433085

https://youtu.be/xrNMTGZtws0 Continue reading →

Small Sugar Creek sewer line leak found and fixed –Valdosta Utilities 2025-11-20

Update 2025-11-23: Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek –WCTV 2025-11-20.

Update 2025-11-21: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River upstream; downstream and Alapaha River OK 2025-11-20.

Received by email at 8:54 AM this morning, and Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes called about the same time: yesterday Valdosta found and fixed a small sewer leak into Sugar Creek.

I congratulated him and his department.

[Small Sugar Creek sewer line leak found and fixed --Valdosta Utilities, 2025-11-20]
Small Sugar Creek sewer line leak found and fixed –Valdosta Utilities, 2025-11-20

He said he wanted to get the press release out yesterday, but the new interim Valdosta City Manager (Al Crace, since November 10, 2025) reviewed it this morning. I noted that’s still faster than previous Utilities Directors.

Jason Barnes said he had also already called Rick Davis, Chair of the Florida Rivers Task Force. I agree with them that this leak will not have affected the Withlacoochee River in Florida.

Although of course it could affect Sugar Creek downstream at the Watergoat, where WWALS has been getting high E. coli results, and the Withlacoochee River as far downstream as GA 133, where Valdosta has been getting high results. And it could affect any children, adults, pets, or wildlife playing in Sugar Creek or that section of the Withlacoochee River, including down to the Little River Confluence along the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

There’s still the mystery of why results upstream at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek remain high. Jason Barnes said they can’t find any leaks in the sewer lines, so maybe it’s coming from the apartments upstream, and there’s also contruction going on. I noted that Lowndes High School, Academy Sports, and all the businesses along St. Augustine Road up to Hobby Lobby also drain into Hightower Creek. I look forward to the source of that Hightower Creek problem also being found.

Meanwhile, congratulations Jason Barnes and the Valdosta Utilities Department for finding and fixing this leak, and for getting a press release out speedily!

Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reported in Sugar Creek

On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at approximately 1:30 PM, members of the City of Valdosta Utilities Department’s Environmental Services Watershed Team discovered a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) occurring along Sugar Creek during routine monitoring activities.

Personnel observed that an 8-inch sanitary sewer line had been damaged and was actively discharging into the creek. Utilities Director Jason Barnes was immediately notified, and a contracted response crew was dispatched to investigate. Crews were able to install a patch on the damaged line by approximately 2:30 PM. Current estimates indicate that between 1,000 and 1,500 gallons of wastewater entered Sugar Creek.

Continue reading →

ACT acquired 429 Santa Fe River acres by Sawdust Spring Preserve 2025-11-10

A big win.

[429 acres acquired, Santa Fe River 2025-11-10, Sawdust Spring Preserve, Alachua Conservation Trust]
429 acres acquired, Santa Fe River 2025-11-10, Sawdust Spring Preserve, Alachua Conservation Trust

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2025
Alachua Conservation Trust
Sophie Szymula, Communications Coordinator
(352) 373-1078
info @ AlachuaConservationTrust.org

Community-Supported Conservation Victory Along the Santa Fe River

Gainesville, Florida — Following an influx of regional support, a local land trust has acquired 429 acres of land along the Santa Fe River, increasing protection for North Central Florida’s local springs and surrounding upland and bottomland habitats. Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) purchased the Columbia County property with funding from private donors, the River Branch Foundation, the 1923 Fund, and the Nature Conservancy. Over a hundred individual donors contributed $82,000 in April 2025 during the Amazing Give towards the acquisition, along with over a hundred other donors who answered ACT through direct mail and online appeals.

The new acquisition directly surrounds ACT’s existing 139-acre Sawdust Spring Preserve, which is Continue reading →

Bad news from FWC about the Ichetucknee Springs Protection Zone 2025-11-10

On Monday, Linda “Dicker” Weseman forwarded this response from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, denying her proposal for an Ichetucknee Springs Protection Zone (SPZ).

About this sad news, she wrote, “To say this project was near and dear to my heart is an understatement. We had an incredible team step up and support this SPZ. From this, many new friendships formed that I cherish. We gave it a heck of a run and, honestly, I would not change a thing.”

She added, “I only hope it paves the way for success for future efforts to preserve the Ichetucknee and other spring runs.”

She is still leading this January 2026 WWALS outing: Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and Paddle to see SPZ 2026-01-10.
https://wwals.net/?p=68835

[Bad news from FWC, about SPZ 2025-11-10, Denied: Ichetucknee Springs, Protection Zone]
Bad news from FWC, about SPZ 2025-11-10, Denied: Ichetucknee Springs, Protection Zone

From: “Bryant, Rachel”
Date: November 10, 2025 at 12:32:10 PM EST
To: weseman.pe@gmail.com
Cc: “Atkins, Linville”, “Holcomb, William”, “Cook, Madison B.”
Subject: RE: Ichetucknee spring protection zone request

Ms. Weseman

On July 29, 2025, you submitted a request that the Commission consider the establishment of a Springs Protection Zone that creates a no wake zone as well as restricting the use of personal watercraft on the Ichetucknee from the boundary of Ichetucknee Springs State Park to the confluence at the Santa Fe River, the “lower Ichetucknee”. After review by subject matter experts Continue reading →

Open the Okefenokee Gates 2025-11-15

Update 2025-11-21: Low water at the first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp 2025-11-20.

Actually, the Suwannee River Sill Gates are always open.

This was a facebook comment yesterday, “Open the dam in the swamp.”

It was on this WWALS facebook post: Very low water, Fargo Ramp, Suwannee River 2025-11-12 Video by Shirley Kokidko for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1946665392780126

See also:
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/posts/pfbid02p1mXs1UZK6ZhGQe4BeEdAa54E1Ws2Dk5AQmKmRsbqKPc3ATi6SxVyZjXL1U54dHRl
https://wwals.net/?p=68851

I’ve also heard from otherwise very knowledgeable Floridians: “When there are big rains, Georgia opens the Okefenokee gates and floods Florida!”

Nope, that doesn’t happen, either.

[Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000]
Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000

The Sill itself was an experiment in fire prevention that did not work, and also turned out to be a bad idea, because the Okefenokee Swamp needs fire to regenerate itself.

Here’s video and pictures of the Second and First Gates through the Suwannee River Sill, December 9, 2025 2023 [date corrected]
https://youtube.com/shorts/8LA_PLDqXA0 Continue reading →