Tag Archives: Withlacoochee River

Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River 2026-08-26 Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27

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Something is wrong with Sugar Creek that is hard to explain by first flush, yet no sewage spills have been found.

WWALS tested Sugar Creek filthy Saturday and Wednesday at the WaterGoat. Valdosta Utilities corroborated that for Wednesday at Gornto Road. Upstream on Hightower Creek at Gornto Road, Valdosta Utilities got too high for Monday, and way-too high for Wednesday, matching WWALS the result for that site. Valdosta also got too high for Wednesday on One Mile Branch at West Gordon Street, but not nearly as high as on Hightower Branch. More on all that below.

Meanwhile, Valdosta Utilities got OK results for the Withlacoochee River upstream at US 41 (North Valdosta Road) and downstream at GA 133 and US 84. WWALS got clean results at Holly Point, only four miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

And WWALS got clean Thursday results for the Santa Fe River.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

So according to the results we have, avoid Sugar Creek and its tributaries One Mile Branch and Hightower Creek. But on the rivers, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

[Filthy Sugar Creek 2026-08-26, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27]
Filthy Sugar Creek 2026-08-26, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27

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 →

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19

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Update 2026-08-28: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27.

The Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers tested clean this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia, but there was an update on the August 5 Tifton spill.

So according to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

[Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, No new sewage spills, Happy paddling 2026-08-19]
Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, No new sewage spills, Happy paddling 2026-08-19

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 →

Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on Scott James radio 2026-08-13

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Last call, songwriters, tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19, 2026:

https://forms.gle/fihLNVC2xbD1SXBB6

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman discussed the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest last Thursday at the Mayor’s day job, the radio show he owns and hosts on talk921.fm.

Songs can be about any waterbody in the 10,000-square mile Suwannee River Basin or Estuary in Georgia or Florida, including the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Alapahoochee, or Suwannee Rivers, or the Okefenokee Swamp, or any other river, creek, swamp, or sink. Plus underground waters such as the Floridan Aquifer.

Songwriters can be from anywhere; they come from as far as Tennessee and south Florida.

[Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest by August 19, on Scott James radio, Finalists play September 12, 2026]
Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest by August 19, on Scott James radio, Finalists play September 12, 2026

Here are WWALS videos from that radio show:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2118859655696045

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcL-5a7I2nc/

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTFinxTNQsw&si=u4CDRXlSjW5tCIl6

Once we get those last few songs from the procrastinating songwriters, the organizing committee will select Finalists.

The Finalists will play at WWALS River Revue, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Lowndes County 4-H Club in Lake Park, Georgia, on Long Pond.

https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2026

When you buy a ticket, you get to hear them along with the three judges, who will select the winners.

And you get a sit-down dinner with cash bar, Headliner Joe First, who is last year’s winner, and two speakers:

  • Amy Sharma of Science for Georgia, talking about hyper-scale AI datacenters.
  • Rick Davis, Chair of the dozen-county Florida Task Force, talking about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the currently-hibernating scheme to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into wetlands in the Suwannee Basin.

Plus a silent auction! Continue reading →

Florida Governor Candidates: Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-17

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Here’s what six people running for Florida Governor have to say about clean water. The other candidates did not respond.

We got a variety of answers about WFNF, desalination, potable reuse, WMDs, datacenters, and RTCW. For what these candidates wrote about those and other issues, see below.

[Florida Governor Candidates, Clean Water Questionnaire, WFNF, Datacenters, WMDs, etc. --WWALS 2026-08-17]
Florida Governor Candidates, Clean Water Questionnaire, WFNF, Datacenters, WMDs, etc. –WWALS 2026-08-17

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is conducting a Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire: #WWALSCleanWaterQuestionnaire

We already reported responses from statehouse District 9 and District 10, and also U.S. Congress Florida District 2.

For much more about Water First North Florida (WFNF), see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

If you are a candidate for state or national office in Florida this year, in the Suwannee River Basin, we sent you a questionnaire. If you didn’t get it, please let us know.

https://wwals.net/donations/contact/

Primary Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18. Continue reading →

Florida U.S. House District 3: Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-17

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Update 2026-08-17: Florida Governor Candidates: Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-17.

Here’s what some of those running for U.S. Congress from Florida District 3 have to say about clean water: Troy Albers and Seth Harp.

Kat Cammack (the incumbent), Georgia Hubac, Mike Klein, and Tom Wells did not respond.

FL-03 covers Hamilton, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Alachua, Gilchrist, Suwannee, (most of ) Lafayette, Dixie, Levy, Counties, and part of Marion County. That’s almost all of the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, except not Madison County.

[Florida U.S. House District 3, Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire --WWALS 2026-08-17]
Florida U.S. House District 3, Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-17

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is conducting a Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire: #WWALSCleanWaterQuestionnaire

We already reported responses from statehouse District 9 and District 10.

In FL-03 also WFNF is not popular, WMDs in their current form are problematical, hyper-scale AI datacenters are looked upon ascance, and these candidates support RTCW. For these candidates’ answers to those and other questions, see below.

For much more about Water First North Florida (WFNF), see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

If you are a candidate for state or national office in Florida this year, in the Suwannee River Basin, we sent you a questionnaire. If you didn’t get it, please let us know.

https://wwals.net/donations/contact/

Primary Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18.

Our source for who is running is Continue reading →

Alleged Sinkhole, Rustic Ridge Road, Foxborough subdivision 2026-08-12

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Dennis Norman, the landowner with the big hole in his driveway at 4637 Rustic Ridge Road, said his wife did a video recording of the children back in 2019 and he saw the crack in the driveway then.

He told the county about it this spring, before his driveway collapsed. Last Wednesday he was waiting around for somebody from the county to come out, who apparently already had, and I finally got his Commissioner to call him.

According to the dictionary and USGS, it’s a sinkhole.

The question is what caused it: “gradual soil movement”, a sewer pipe break, or a contractor running something along the road?

And who is responsible for the damages.

Also, are there more cavities that may collapse.

[Alleged Sinkhole 2026-08-12, 4637 Rustic Ridge Road, Foxborough subdivision, Lowndes County, GA]
Alleged Sinkhole 2026-08-12, 4637 Rustic Ridge Road, Foxborough subdivision, Lowndes County, GA

Here’s a WWALS video playlist from the site:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLalLgq5w7US8&si=VY1m8J6P8PGdqjcS

Dennis Norman had already called the county before his driveway collapsed. He thought it was a sinkhole then, and he’s still not sure.

He stuck his tape measure down in there, and it was 5 feet 3 inches deep before it collapsed. Continue reading →

Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08 but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12

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Update 2026-08-21 Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19.

The Alapaha River tested clean last Friday, but the Town of Alapaha Wastewater Treatment Outflow was filthy.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Monday and for Wednesday downstream.

The only sewage spill reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia, was a 25,000 gallon spill into Hat Creek on August 2, that Ashburn, Georgia didn’t report to GA-EPD until Monday, August 10. That’s upstream of the Alapaha River.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

[Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08, but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12]
Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08, but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12

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 →

Sabal Trail wants a second pipeline and bigger compressor stations 2026-08-03

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Update 2026-08-25: Denial of Survey Consent, etc., Kira Pollock to FERC about Sabal Trail Expansion Project 2026-08-24.

Sabal Trail proposes to add another fracked methane pipeline alongside the one it plowed under the Withlacoochee, Suwannee, Santa Fe, and Withlacoochee (South) Rivers almost a decade ago, plus bigger compressor stations in Suwannee and Marion Counties, Florida, and elsewhere.

What “economic development” could eat such a doubling of pipeline capacity? I know of only one candidate: hyper-scale AI datacenters, powered by gas plants such as the one rumored in Mitchell County, Georgia, near the Sabal Trail pipeline.

[Sabal Trail wants a second pipeline and bigger compressor stations, 2026-08-03]
Sabal Trail wants a second pipeline and bigger compressor stations, 2026-08-03

The first person to post this letter online was apparently Jodi Brantley, today, August 14, 2026. Others confirm that multiple landowners received this letter. The gist of the letter is on Sabal Trail’s own website:

https://www.sabaltrailtransmission.com/Project

This is not the long-delayed Project Phase III, which was supposed to add 75 million cubic feet per day. That one was originally supposed to be in service May 1, 2021, but got extended until May 1, 2023, and again to May 1, 2025, and most recently to May 1, 2027.

This Sabal Trail Expansion is a new project.

The current Sabal Trail pipeline “is capable of transporting over 1 billion cubic feet per day or more of natural gas to serve local distribution companies, industrial users and natural gas-fired power generators in the Southeast markets.”

So a second pipeline could add another billion cubic feet per day.

Sabal Trail’s excuses are: Continue reading →

River up at Langdale Park Boat Ramp; erosion on access road 2026-08-13

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The Withlacoochee River is up at Langdale Park Boat Ramp.

At 118 feet NAVD88 yesterday and 119.19 feet today on the Valdosta Gauge at US 41, that’s several feet above the WWALS recommended minimum of 116 for boating. It’s probably even high enough to put in a boat with a motor and go over most of the remaining deadfalls at the bottom of the park.

Unfortunately, the rains that brought the river up also once again produced erosion on the access road, out of the private development site.

[2026-08-13: River up at Langdale Park Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, erosion on access road]
2026-08-13: River up at Langdale Park Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, erosion on access road

Down at the boat ramp, you can see the WWALS signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT) and below them a container with rack cards for people to take. Continue reading →

Update: Clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road to Withlacoochee River 2026-08-07

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Update 2026-08-14: Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08 but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12.

Following up on the August 3 clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road into the Withlacoochee River, we already posted that there was no effect on the Withlacoochee River detectable in E. coli measurements by Valdosta Utilities or WWALS.

[Update: Clay Silt Runoff, St. Augustine Road into Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2026-08-07]
Update: Clay Silt Runoff, St. Augustine Road into Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2026-08-07

Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd sent this update on August 7:

The property owner is required to install and maintain a series of BMPs (silt fencing, check dams, sediment storage basins, etc.) to prevent the escape of sediment from the permittee’s property throughout construction.

Sometimes those components of the construction plan are not maintained appropriately or the fail during severe inclement weather and need to be repaired, replaced, or supplemented in order to prevent the escape of sediment from the permittee’s property.

Following receipt of the report of sediment escape from the property, we had our ESPC inspector visit the subject property, document the deficiencies which resulted in the escape of sediment from the property, and notify the owner and their contractor of the deficiencies.

We also reached out to the owner’s design professional and recommended a modified construction phasing approach which would reduce the risk of repeat occurrences.

If the incident occurs again, or if the identified deficiencies are not rectified within the required timeframe, we will progress through the City’s enforcement procedures for locally issued permits.

Please let us know if you identify any other deficiencies or if you have any more questions.

Have a good weekend!

You may wonder why it took WWALS so long to post this update. Continue reading →