Monthly Archives: July 2013

JIA map shows all marsh as land at mean high tide –David Egan

Received Thursday on Marsh is not land, not here, not at Jekyll Island –WWALS Watershed Coalition -jsq

WWALS Watershed Coalition is on target with its analysis of the Jekyll 65-35 issue! Just a quick glance at the the 65-35 map under consideration by the JIA reveals all —- according to the JIA, ALL of Jekyll’s tidal marsh is above water, as in dry, at mean high tide, and is therefore part of the land area of Jekyll Islnsd subject to the 65-35 law. On-site conditions deny the accuracy of that map, for most of the marsh is actually under water (as in wet) at the time of high tide. The JIA’s map can be viewed at http://www.savejekyllisland.org/MPMOAAMHWPapJuly2013.html

-David Egan

SaveJekyllIsland.org wrote: Continue reading →

Paddle the Alapaha at US 82 2PM Saturday 27 July 2013

Join WWALS on our monthly outing, on the exotic Alapaha River:

Jungle-like in its remoteness and luxurious with exotic vegetation, the dark reddish-brown waters of the Alapaha wind through a swampy wonderland teeming with wildlife. — Alapaha River Paddling Guide, by Suzanne Welander

Yet it’s right here in Berrien County, Georgia, only an hour’s drive from Valdosta and less from Adel, Lakeland, Tifton, etc.

Meet at the intersection of Hwy 82 bridge and the Alapaha River, about 2 miles east of Alapaha, GA.

Park cars at the top near a derelict brick building (south of highway). There is a road down to the river but it is badly washed out so you probably want to take a look before you drive down.

We’re planning to paddle upstream a ways and then float back down.

Join the facebook event or just come paddle!

-jsq

Streamer on the Suwannee, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers: ten or more rivers and many creeks, lakes, swamps, and ponds

Update 3 March 2016: Suwannee River, ten rivers, and current location of USGS streamer.

The USGS Streamer interactive map shows all (well, most) tributaries of our two biggest WWALS rivers. Visitors sometimes refer to our “four rivers” since we only originally named four in our WWALS mission: Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little. Yet we added the upper Suwannee, and there always were more than that: from one to ten rivers, depending on how you count them.

600x817 WWALS Rivers, in WWALS Rivers, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 25 July 2015

The Withlacoochee River tributary map here shows the New River south of Tifton joining the Withlacoochee between Nashville and Adel.

Withlacoochee River Alapaha River

The New River is rather important, since it forms half of the boundary between Cook and Berrien Counties (the Withlacoochee River forms the other half): Continue reading →

Request participation in watershed planning –WWALS to Corps

Unanimously approved 10 July 2013 by the WWALS board (PDF).

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
www.wwals.net
10 July 2013

To:
Jeffrey S Morris
Savannah District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
100 W Oglethorpe Ave
Savannah, GA 31401
Jeffrey.S.Morris@usace.army.mil

Cc:
Mayor John Gayle
City of Valdosta
P.O. Box 1125
216 E. Central Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31603-1125
jgayle@valdostacity.com

Greetings from the pocosin swamps and blackwater river floodplains of central south Georgia! Continue reading →

Marsh is not land, not here, not at Jekyll Island –WWALS Watershed Coalition

Unanimously approved Wednesday by the WWALS board (PDF). JIA meets next Monday 15 July 2013.

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
10 July 2013

To:
Governor Nathan Deal,
Attorney General Sam Olens,
the Jekyll Island Authority,
and the Georgia Legislature

Frog viewing swamp Here in central south Georgia our pocosin swamps and blackwater river flood plains are important for fishing, hunting, wildlife and ecological preservation as well as recreation and flood control. In our watersheds we have serious problems of flooding at least partly due to Continue reading →

Solar passed GA PSC!

We (the people) won!

WWALS helped by writing a letter to GA PSC, reading it to them, and asking Commissioner Everett to vote for it. He did, and Georgia Power is now required to buy more than twice as much solar power. Details here.

-jsq

GA PSC solar decision tomorrow (July 11th)

Folks,

Tomorrow the PSC decides on requiring Georgia Power to add more solar power. The swing vote is H. Doug Everett, Commissioner for District 1, which includes all of our watersheds. He went to high school in Sylvester, which is in the Little River watershed, and he is on the board of the Georgia Agrirama Development Authority. You can contact him through the above web page, or call him at his PSC office: (800) 282-5813.

You probably remember last month the WWALS board sent a letter to the Georgia Public Service Commission asking for more solar and wind and less water-sucking baseload power plants. Garry Gentry read the letter to the PSC. More background here.

Here’s your chance to help make more solar happen for Georgia.

-jsq

Agricultural runoff

The Southern Georgia Regional Commission invites you to contact them about agricultural runoff. WWALS is concerned with how industrial farming and clear cutting affects both water quality and quantity in our watershed.

Runoff on Old Valdosta Road in Berrien County 2013-07-08 The pictured example of runoff from a cotton field was in Berrien County yesterday. While rain was pouring down, it ran half way across the road, and two cars wrecked. Once it gets across the road, either over it or through the culvert, it runs into the Withlacoochee River. As Pesticide Action Network reminds us, “Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop.”

Abbie Fentress Swanson wrote for GPB 6 July 2013, What Is Farm Runoff Doing To The Water? Scientists Wade In,

Agriculture is the nation’s leading cause of impaired water quality, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Continue reading →