Monthly Archives: January 2015

Sabal Trail ignored springs and underground connections –TSE Plantation

300x388 Sabal Trail proposes to go through an area riddled with these conduits, in TSE Plantation against Sabal Trail pipeline, by Thomas S. Edwards, Jr., for WWALS.net, 29 January 2015 A Suwannee County, Florida landowner points to newly-discovered connections between springs under rivers and to other well-known springs Sabal Trail ignored, adding:

Note that the undersigned is a lay person attorney and NOT a karst expert. Basic research revealed the information contained herein and the omission of this infonnation by Sabal’s purported karst experts should raise serious questions as to the credibility of Sabal’s filings.

Filed with FERC 29 January 2015 as Accession Number: 20150129-5192, “Supplemental Information / Request of Edwards & Ragatz, P.A. under CP15-17. Supplemental Comments of Proposed Intervener, Thomas S. Edwards, Manager, TSE Plantation, LLC Opposing Portion of Sabal Trail Route and Related Motion to Accept Late Comments”, Continue reading →

Springs flow under the Suwannee River next to the Withlacoochee River (Falmouth Dye Trace)

The Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline route went through this area, and the new route is only slightly to the north. There are springs all over this area. The same karst limestone underlies the Withlacoochee River in Georgia, where the river already leaks into the aquifer north of Valdosta. A pipeline anywhere in the karst limestone containing the Floridan Aquifer is a very bad idea. Profit for Sabal Trail, FPL, or Spectra Energy is no excuse for risking our drinking water.

SRWMD PR 4 December 2014, Falmouth dye trace reveals unknown connectivity,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LIVE OAK, FL, December 4, 2014 — The District and Florida Geological Survey introduced dye into Falmouth Spring On September 4th, in hopes of learning which other springs were connected to the known Falmouth Cathedral Cave System. Two days after the dye was release the dye appeared in two springs previously not known to be connected, Ellaville and Suwannacoochee.

Continue reading →

Pictures Upstream on the Alapaha River from Statenville Boat Ramp 2014-01-18

A nice day for a paddle upstream, in these pictures and videos by Gretchen Quarterman of the 18 January 2014 WWALS Outing at the Statenville Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River. Continue reading →

Statenville to Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River, WWALS Outing, 2015-02-15

Expert Paddle on the Alapaha River Sunday, February,15th 12:00pm. facebook event

Update 2015-03-06: Summary and pictures.

Launch site: Statenville boat ramp on HWY 94 just west of Statenville, GA, 30°42’15.3″N 83°01’57.9″W 30.704260, -83.032750.
Take out:Alapahoochee boat ramp (Sasser Landing) HWY 150 a few miles east of Jennings, FL, 30°36’02.6″N 83°04’23.7″W 30.600710, -83.073260.


Picture by Michael Rivera,
used with permission.

We will meet at launch site at noon, unload boats and shuttle vehicles to the take out (25 miles Round trip), on the water by 1:00.

This event is FREE! All we ask is that Continue reading →

Quality of life and the Alapaha River Water Trail

WWALS is most appreciative of this letter of support (PDF). -jsq

BuildLowndes.com

Valdosta-Lowndes
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

300x388 Text, in Quality of life and the Alapaha River Water Trail, by Andrea Schruijer, for WWALS.net, 21 January 2015 January 21, 2015

Mr. John Quarterman, President
WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605

Dear Mr. Quarterman;

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority works diligently with our existing companies and prospective companies looking to relocate to Valdosta, Georgia. There are several components that are part of this process and one of those is quality of life. Communities that have a wide variety of activities, arts and entertainment and outdoor recreation do better in the selection process as opposed to those that are limited.

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority understands that Continue reading →

High school student logo contest for Alapaha River Water Trail by WWALS in Suwannee Democrat

Update 2015-03-10: Prizes to high school logo contest winners Saturday at Alapaha River Water Trail Conference.

Florida noticed the ARWT logo contest.

Joyce Marie Taylor, Jasper News, 19 January 2015, HamCo: High school student logo contest for Alapaha River Water Trail by WWALS,

HCHS [Hamilton County High School] invited to participate

Valdosta, Ga.— Willacoochee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Little River System (WWALS) is excited to announce a contest among high school students in Echols, Lanier, Lowndes, Berrien, Atkinson, and Tift Counties in Georgia, and Hamilton County, Fla. to design a logo for the Alapaha River Water Trail. The logo will be used on the Water Trail website, on promotional brochures, and on information at access points along the river that will be posted on kiosks.

Our judges for the contest include:

The rest is verbatim from The WWALS press release of 14 January 2015.

-jsq

Grassy Pond opened to public by Moody AFB

A sinkhole lake like a state park, run by a local Air Force Base, is now open to the public.

Dave Miller, WALB, 14 January 2015, Moody AFB opens Grassy Pond to the public,

LAKE PARK, GA (WALB)—Moody Air Force Base announced Tuesday that Grassy Pond in Lake Park, an affiliate of Moody, is now open to the public for daily enjoyment.

For decades, Grassy Pond has catered to military personnel, retirees and their family members, but in an effort to build community relations, the Air Force approved Moody’s request to grant public access to the facility.

This 500 acre recreational area is similar to Continue reading →

Water Trail Etiquette

Planning for the Alapaha River Water Trail, we need to put river etiquette guilelines in brochures, on kiosks, on the web, etc. What should we include? Here are some possibilities.

Update 2016-02-21: Here’s what we put in the ARWT Brochure, Safety and Etiquette.

The latest of the old brochures from the 1970s contained these six items:

  1. Carry all litter out with you.
  2. Do not cut or damage living trees.
  3. Be extremely careful with campfires.
  4. Firearms are not necessary.
  5. Bring your camera.
  6. Help protect the landowners property.

Georgia River Network’s Water Trails website has this ten-point version: Continue reading →

Outing summary, Expert paddle on the Alapaha River from US 82 @ WWALS 2015-01-17

Outings Committee Chair Bret Wagenhorst sent this report. See also pictures and videos. -jsq

300x225 Movie: Go right (1.4M), in Alapaha deadfalls, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 17 January 2015 Participants: Heather Braswell, Jack Hartley, Chris and Deanna Mericle, John Quarterman, Bret Wagenhorst

Put in: public boat ramp on east side of Hwy 82 bridge, east of Town of Alapaha.

Take out: private land near Rowe Town Church cemetery (permission obtained thru Heather)

Distance on River: Continue reading →