Tag Archives: Sugar Creek

Langdale Park to Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, 2018-06-23

A leisurely two-mile morning paddle from the recently reopened Langdale Park on the largest river through the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, arriving at the recently rediscovered Sugar Creek Landing, well in time for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in the afternoon.

When: 9AM, Saturday, June 23, 2018

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

Take Out: Sugar Creek Landing, 2410 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602, recently rediscovered next to the YMCA, and just across the railroad tracks from The Salty Snapper, venue of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. If you don’t have a boat, let us know; we may able to loan you one.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

No sand bar, 11:13:35,, Boat Ramp
Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 1 November 2017, when the water was much lower.

Continue reading →

Gornto Road, Valdosta, access to Withlacoochee River 2018-01-24

It could use some markers to keep people on it and off private property, and maybe some loaner kayak wheels, but there is public access to the Withlacoochee River off of Gornto Road in Valdosta.

Tea-colored water, 16:22:37,, Withlacoochee River
Tea-colored water, 16:22:37,, Withlacoochee River 30.8623900, -83.3224600

And a very nice blackwater river it is. Continue reading →

Earl Wetherington Foot Bridge

Maybe this bridge was named for Earl Wetherington Foot, since it has vehicular traffic. Since I can’t find any mention of such a person, maybe it was named for Earl Wetherington (1925-2013) and once upon a time was a foot bridge. Anyway, it’s on Gornto Road in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, over Sugar Creek, slightly upstream from the Withlacoochee River.

Bridge, Over Sugar Creek

Bridge, Over Sugar Creek

It was closed in the “700-year” flood of 2013, which followed the “700-year” flood of 2009 (I think it was closed then, too). Continue reading →

One Mile Branch Cleanup 2017-11-11

Good turnout for the One Mile Branch Cleanup at VSU, including the new Valdosta Utilities Director, Darryl Muse, and his wife. Thanks Scotti Jay for organizing this outing, including bringing a cart for the materials and going back with a pickup truck to collect the bags of trash.

There were waterfalls just like Scotti said, Tom Potter fished a lawn chair out of the creek, we celebrated Armistice Day, we took some pictures with the Suwannee Riverkeeper banner, and we heard a word from Valdosta’s Utilities Director, all in addition to picking up a lot of trash for two hours on a cold windy November day.

Say WWALS, Banner

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Water issues at Valdosta City Council 2017-03-09

A rare agenda with nothing about water on it does have this, “6. Citizens to be Heard”, which people from anywhere can use to talk about water issues such as sewage and its effects on the Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers all the way to the Gulf, coal ash from TVA and Florida, PCBs, and Superfund wastewater in the landfill in Lowndes County, which is a quarter mile upstream from the Withlacoochee River and in a recharge zone for the Floridan Aquifer.

When: 5:30 PM, Thursday, March 9, 2017

Where: Council Chambers, City Hall, 216 E Central Avenue, Valdosta, GA 31601, 30.832961, -83.277471
Too far? Call them up or send them email.

Event: facebook


Photo: Michael Rivera Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

What: Continue reading →

Small Valdosta sewer spills after big rains 2017-01-23

Update 2017-01-25: And also a spill at the WWTP.

Nobody likes sewer spills, but no, these are not the same as before Valdosta’s recent wastewater system improvements: Document-0001 nothing this time came from the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the amounts were small compared to previous years (10-62%) and in far fewer locations.

That didn’t stop WTXL from using this title: Amber Lewis, WTXL, 24 January 2017, Major Sewage Spill Reported in Valdosta,

The City of Valdosta has reported that a large amount of untreated sewage has spilled in the area.

The Florida Department of Health reports that Continue reading →

Details on Valdosta overflows last weekend 2016-04-04

Force main and the new WWTP on line by May!

More extensive overflows than usual last weekend, and now more extensive information about them, in the update Tim Carroll promised, on the City of Valdosta website as City System Impacted by Severe Storms and Regional Watershed. It even starts with schedule details, which say they’re ahead of the schedule I previously posted. This report’s table of overflows has start and stop times and amounts, with the Creeks affected.

It still doesn’t say which river basin they go into. Knights Creek flows into Mud Creek, which goes into the Alapahoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers. All the others end up in the Withlacoochee and the Suwannee Rivers. And there are still some unanswered questions. But getting the force main and the new WWTP on line by May is a very good development.

The City of Valdosta is ahead of schedule and plans to bring online nearly $60 million in wastewater system improvements next month. The $35 million Force Main project and the $23 million new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) are both ahead of schedule, and bringing them both online cannot come a day too soon for the city. 

“We are pleased to be in the final stages of construction on both projects. Testing is underway now with full startup expected in late May,” according to Director of Utilities Henry Hicks. “We are also pleased that these projects and other awarded sewer collection system improvement projects underway will resolve all the areas of the city impacted by reoccurring overflows that often follow heavy rains and regional flooding.”

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More Valdosta wastewater spills over the weekend; stay tuned 2016-04-04

Update 2016-04-05: Here are the details, and force main and new WWTP on line by May.

Valdosta spilled more wastewater over the weekend, according to Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll, who called just now. The Withlacoochee River is out of its banks, actually up on the property containing the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), but “according to the experts” not going to threaten the plant. “But lines are underwater”.

Water is not even close to the new WWTP currently under construction, according to Carroll. And the new force main project should deal with much of the manhole overflow problem on the west side of Valdosta in the Withlacoochee basin, for example into Sugar Creek.

On the east and southeast, in the Alapaha basin, Continue reading →

Three more Valdosta wastewater overflows 2016-03-28

Who thought it was a good idea for stormwater to go into Valdosta’s sanitary sewer system? 700 Cypress Street, Valdosta, GA Whoever it was, the current Valdosta Utilities, Engineering, and especially Stormwater Director have to deal with it, frequently. Maybe some of the upwards of $300 million Valdosta is spending on force main, new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, etc., will help with this problem. But none of that will stop rain from falling on Valdosta, and little of it is directed at the Alapaha River watershed in Valdosta, where one of this week’s three spills went.

Come see for yourself where Sugar Creek flows into the Withlacoochee River, this Sunday morning, April 3rd, on the extra WWALS Outing from Langdale Park to the Little River Boat Ramp. And come paddle with us on the Alapaha River Saturday morning April 23rd, from Hotchkiss Road in Lanier County to Mayday in Echols County, upstream from where Knights Creek flows into Mud Swamp Creek, which joins Grand Bay Creek to form the Alapahoochee River, which joins the Alapaha River in Florida. And of course both the Withlacoochee and the Alapaha join the Suwannee River. Valdosta says there’s no significant vestige of its wastewater that far downstream. It would be good to have some independent water quality monitoring to be sure.

I notice Section 5 Mud Swamp Creek Basin of Valdosta’s Master Stormwater Management Plan says: Continue reading →

Ray’s Mill Pond; was Withlacoochee River: Langdale Park to Little River Boat Ramp 2016-04-03

Update 2016-03-31: Rescheduled for Ray’s Mill Pond, due to flood stage on the Withlacoochee River.

Back on the Withlacoochee River in Valdosta, by popular demand from last weekend’s outing! Shuttle: 10 miles or 15 minutes each way We’ll continue next weekend on the next leg down the Withlacoochee River on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

Event: facebook or meetup.

When: 9AM Sunday April 3rd 2016

Put in: Continue reading →