On the
Skipper Bridge Gauge,
the level was
122.52 feet NAVD88 (2.22 feet from bottom).
Our recommended levels are Lowest boatable: 122.6′,
Highest safe: 131′.
You could paddle through the trickle, but I doubt you’d get through much of the 5 river miles to Franklinville Landing without having to climb over or under or chainsaw through deadfalls from Hurricane Helene.
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
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.
The Santa Fe River and the Withlacoochee River downstream tested clean for Wednesday.
But WWALS got too-high results at the WaterGoat on Sugar Creek for Monday,
and both WWALS and Valdosta Utilities got too-high results upstream on Hightower Creek at St. Augustine Road.
In addition, Valdosta Utilities got too high at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River downstream from Sugar Creek.
These continuing high Sugar Creek results are still mysterious,
especially given no rain to wash residue downstream.
No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in the past week in
Georgia
or
Florida,
except a small spill from a force main break Monday in downtown Chiefland, Levy County, Florida.
No rain is expected for the next week.
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.
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 →
Here’s a new one:
Chiefland, Florida, had a sewage spill.
Somebody drilled into a 6-inch force main downtown.
That’s nowhere near any waterway.
The nearest is Long Pond, which indirectly ends up in Manatee Spring
on the Suwannee River, but it is very unlikely any of this sewage got into any of those waterways.
This report is from the daily-updated Pollution Notice
of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Incident Name:
City of Chiefland Force Main Break
Incident Report:
On 11/12/2025 at approx. 3:45pm, a fiber boring contractor drilled into our 6-inch force main causing a break. We immediately arrived on scene to assess the situation. We began shutting down lift stations through town as others gathered, pipe, tools, and equipment to repair the break. The wastewater department was assisted by our water department as well. Work began immediately to dig and repair the break. At approx. 5:50pm, a permanent repair was made and stations were being turned back on quickly as personnel watched the repair to ensure no leaks. Once we determined the repair was solid, we lime the hole and partially backfilled to help stabilize the force main through the night. The next morning, fresh fill dirt was hauled in to put the affected area back to normal.
Come see what the Ichetucknee Springs Protection Zone (SPZ) is about. Swim in the itch head spring. Then join us for a leisurely paddle 4 miles downstream in crystal clear waters with the possibility of seeing manatee, several types of gar and bird species.
Thanks to Linda Dicker, who proposed the SPZ, for leading this expedition,
and for arranging takeout at the private TREPO Point Park.
Thanks to WWALS water quality tester Christiaan Ard for assisting leading this outing.
The Ichetucknee River is great paddling in the park.
From there down to the Santa Fe River, power boats abound,
producing wakes, endangering humans and wildlife, and eroding shorelines.
The SPZ would require a No Wake Zone and maybe ban personal watercraft.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 11 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, January 10, 2026
Put In: Dip in Ichetucknee Headspring,
then paddle starting at
North Launch Ichetucknee Springs State Park,
Ichetucknee S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038, in Columbia County.
We saw many species of bats on our
leisurely Sunset and Full Beaver Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee
just west of Lakeland, Georgia,
after the sun set and the moon rose.
Thanks to Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, for leading this paddle. He is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Thanks to Bat Biologist (and WWALS Board Member) Elizabeth Brunner for identifying many species of bats living in the one bat tree, and probably a couple more flying by.
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.
Veronica Kelly-Summers, a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,
talked about the Okefenokee Swamp, its history, significance, places to go, things to do, and what’s next,
in this largest and best-preserved freshwater wetland in the U.S.
The Swamp is the headwaters of two rivers: the St. Marys that forms the border between Georgia and Florida,
and the Suwannee, which flows through Georgia and the Florida state song.
Here is the WWALS video of Veronica’s webinar, from noon-1 PM, Thursday, September 11, 2025:
https://youtu.be/pvLU8wPLsZc
The WWALS
campout at Floyd’s Island
in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp
has unfortunately been cancelled due to low water.
So you can watch Veronica’s presentation instead.
WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction.
In questions and answers at the end,
Veronica elaborated on what it means
for the Okefenokee NWR to become a World Heritage Site:
more visibility, more visitors, but no additional federal funding.
Veronica Kelly-Summers is a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
over 15 years of experience in protecting natural resources and
connecting people with nature. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s
degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University with a focus on
forest recreation and wildlife habitat management. Her career with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken her to eight national
wildlife refuges from the woods and swamps of southern Illinois to
the Loess Bluffs of Iowa and Missouri, the Florida Everglades, and
she’s now stationed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in
Georgia. She works closely with staff and partners to provide
leadership and strategic direction for the Visitor Services program
including managing visitor facilities and recreational opportunities
for camping, boating, interpretation, environmental education,
special events, outreach, hunting, fishing, managing volunteers, and
much more. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her
husband, Jacob, and their pets, a yellow lab named Charlie and a
spicy tuxedo cat named Tino.
![[Withlacoochee Trickle, Hagan Bridge Landing, 2025-11-17, GA 122 east of Hahira, Lowndes County, GA]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-17--withlacoochee-trickle-hagan-bridge/fbmany.jpg)
![[Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-15--open-the-okefenokee-gates/fbmany.jpg)
![[Clean Santa Fe River and Withlacoochee downstream, Dirty Hightower and Sugar Creek, 2025-11-12]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-12--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chiefland, Florida, sewage spill 2025-11-12, Levy County, FL, force main break]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-12--chiefland-force-main-break/fbmany.jpg)
![[Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and River Paddle 2026-01-10, to see SPZ, Springs Protection Zone]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-01-10--ichetucknee-spz/fbmany.jpg)
![[Lakeland Boat Ramp, Alapaha River 2025-11-12, Water very low, Lower than recommended]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-12--lakeland-boat-ramp-alapaha-river/fbmany.jpg)
![[Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, 2025-11-05, Guide: Chris Turtleman Adams, Bat Biologist: Elizabeth Brunner]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[WWALS Booth at Sugar Cane Festival, White Springs, FL, 2025-11-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-08--sugar-cane-festival-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-webinar-video/fbmany.jpg)
![[Alapaha Station Celebration, Alapaha, Georgia, Thanks, Gretchen and Heather, Heavy Rain 2025-11-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-08--alapaha-station-celebration-pictures/fbmany.jpg)