Monthly Archives: April 2020

Again, Within these WWALS 2020-04-13

Contest number 2: Please identify (by scientific or common name) each of the items highlighted in a set of photos and then come up with the name of the WWALS waterway where all the photos were taken.

You can answer here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCgPOcO2dnF_HyHNWdR4rWctS4WkXrggq4AtGL_2TGm6j18Q/viewform

[Four square]
Four square

The first person to submit the correct answers wins a packet of WWALS photo cards from that watershed.
https://wwals.net/2020/03/30/wwals-online-store-cards-hats-stickers-raffle-membership/

Winners will be listed in Continue reading →

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2020-04-19

Announcement
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2 to 4 PM, Sunday, 19 April 2020
Online via Zoom and telephone dial-in
The dial-in and Zoom parameters will be announced before the meeting
facebook event

The new WWALS online store, contests, outings, fundraisers, finances, budget, membership, water quality monitoring, water trails, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, no festivals for now, projects and programs, pipelines, LNG export, titanium mines, phosphate mines, Bill of Rights for Nature, and more.

[WWALS Logo]
WWALS Logo. Yes, S now stands for both Santa Fe and Suwannee, like A stands for both Alapaha and Alapahoochee, and L stands for both Little Rivers (one flowing into the Withlacoochee, the other into the Suwannee).
Our many rivers include four (Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers), six (plus New and Little Rivers flowing into the Withlacoochee), ten (plus Willacoochee, Alapahoochee, and Little Alapaha Rivers flowing into the Alapaha, and Dead River flowing out of it), thirteen (Black River, Little River, and Gopher River flowing into the Suwannee River), or fifteen (Ichetucknee and New River flowing into the Santa Fe River). Plus many creeks, swamps, lakes, and ponds, including our entire watersheds. wwals.net/maps/

Invited to attend: WWALS members, especially committee members, and the general public.
All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we have to spend in this meeting.

See the WWALS website for board members and committees.

The agenda will be available later.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Sewage spill, Cherry Creek, Valdosta, FOG 2020-04-09

Sewage ran down the ditch from Bemiss Road down Cherry Creek Church Road on Thursday, but there is good news about that.

[Pumping]
Pumping

This is why you don’t want to be flushing any old thing down the drain. Continue reading →

Reroute: Little River, Cook County Boat Ramp upstream to Stone Bridge 2020-05-16

Update 2020-05-26: Pictures: Stone Bridge paddle from Cook County Boat Ramp (GA 76) 2020-05-16.

Update 2020-05-21: Three Little River Landings in Swim Guide 2020-05-21

Update 2020-05-20: Clean weekend 2020-05-17.

Changed to put in at Cook County Boat Ramp on GA 76 and paddle upstream past Stone Bridge, and then back. This avoids the outings problem during the stay-home period of the novel coronavirus pandemic: no shuttle, so no crowding together. Yes, boating is not just permitted, it is encouraged by the state of Georgia; see Florida and Georgia Boat Ramps Status 2020-04-09. To keep it that way, everyone please remember to stay 6 feet apart on land and 10 feet apart on the water.

This is a leisurely paddle on a very seldom-paddled stretch of wild south Georgia blackwater river, the Little River, between Adel and Barney.

When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10 AM, Saturday, May 16, 2020

Put In: Cook County Boat Ramp, Mile 31.41. 966 Quitman Highway (GA 76), Adel, GA 31620, in Cook County.
Between Adel and Barney, southeast side of GA 76, northeast side (left bank) of Little River, gravel ramp. Also known as Cook County Landing (GDOT). Left or right bank means when facing downstream.

GPS: 31.040042, -83.493085

Landmark 1: Stone Bridge, 31.04962, -83.49932, Mile 32.36, about a mile upstream from Cook County Boat Ramp.

Take Out: Same as Put In.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. These days, a facemask would not be amiss.

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

Burt Kornegay, March 24, 2018, Stone Bridge
Photo: Burt Kornegay, March 2018, of Stone Bridge over Little River, SW of Adel, GA.
More about Stone Bridge, including more pictures: Stone Bridge, Little River, by Dan Phillips 2016-08-01.

Duration: 2 hours (depending on how far upstream we go)

Shuttle: None, so no crowding together.

Landmark 2: Continue reading →

Clean in last results, but watch out after recent rains, Withlacoochee River 2020-04-08

Update 2020-04-13: Bad water quality at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2020-04-11.

Good news: the Withlacoochee River has been very clean recently.

But watch out: Wednesday’s rain may have washed contamination into the river.

[This Week]
This Week
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida data, see wwals.net/issues/testing/.

There was about half an inch of rain upstream Wednesday, plus a tornado just across Continue reading →

Comment now: TPM mine drains to Okefenokee Swamp, Rivers Styx, St. Marys, Suwannee, Georgia and Florida 2020-04-10

Comment by this Monday, April 13, 2020, if you don’t want any of these creeks, rivers, or the Okefenokee Swamp affected by this strip mine, or the Floridan Aquifer, in Georgia or in Florida.

The Twin Pines Minerals strip mine site drains west from Trail Ridge into the River Styx, into the Okefenokee Swamp, and to the St. Marys River, which becomes the border between Georgia and Florida. On the east, it drains into Boone Creek and into the St. Marys River. If it affects the Swamp, it will affect the Suwannee River, which runs through Georgia and Florida to the Gulf of Mexico.

[River Styx]
River Styx

Please go ahead and tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers why you don’t want this strip mine near the Swamp.

You can also ask for an extension of the public comment deadline, and for public hearings in Georgia and Florida. Here is the Suwannee Riverkeeper extension and hearings request for WWALS.

The Rule the Corps is following for comments says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can require any other affected state to comment. So you can ask EPA to ask Florida to comment. Here is our request for that. Here’s a simple version you can use:

[Your Name or Your Organization Name] requests the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to 33 CFR § 325.2, (b), regarding permit application SAS-2018-0054 to determine that the mining activities of the subject Application may affect the quality of the waters of the state of Florida and to notify the state of Florida, the district engineer, and the applicant that Florida ‘has 60 days from receipt of EPA’s notice to determine if the proposed discharge will affect the quality of its waters so as to violate any water quality requirement in such state, to notify EPA and the district engineer in writing of its objection to permit issuance, and to request a public hearing.’

The inset map is from Figure 66 in the TPM application. TPM didn’t label the waterways, but that’s the River Styx where it says MSW-1, and Boone Creek where it says MSW-4. Both lead to the St. Marys River, which becomes the Georgia-Florida state line. The River Styx joins the St. Marys in the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the Suwannee River. Continue reading →

Video of facebook livestream from Banks Lake 2020-04-09

Shelby Miller did facebook livestream from Banks Lake last night.

[Bobby staying dry]
Bobby staying dry

In this still, you can see Bobby McKenzie in the raffle kayak, Continue reading →

Florida and Georgia Boat Ramps Status 2020-04-09

Yes, you can boat, fish, and swim on rivers and lakes during the stay-home period, in both Florida and Georgia, as long as you keep your distance. Don’t gather in large groups unless you want your favorite river or lake access to get closed, not to mention unless you want to get or transmit the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, for which there is no vaccine. Stay six feet apart, no large groups (usually no more than 10), and on the water stay at least 10 feet apart or 50 feet apart in Florida.

Below is a snapshot of conditions today. Check on your local park or ramp or launch before going for current conditions.

Also check on bacterial conditions, especially since last night’s rain.

Florida

Here’s a handy map that shows status of Florida boat ramps and launches. Red means closed. Blue means open.

[Florida]
Florida

Tony Acevedo, SaltStrong, 31 March 2020, This Map Shows Which Boat Ramps Are Closed & Which Are Open, Continue reading →

Livestream: Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle, 2020-04-08

Shelby Miller will go live on the facebook event at 7:15 PM tonight. She’ll be streaming for an hour through sunset at 7:51 PM. She will have to miss moonrise in order to be out well before the 9PM Lanier County curfew.

[Sunset spire (MM)]
Photo: Monica McKenzie, Sunset spire (MM), Banks Lake, 2020-02-09.

Bobby McKenzie will be on Banks Lake with Shelby, paddling the raffle kayak, and also taking video for later publication. Continue reading →

Cancelled: Florida Counties Task Force meeting with Valdosta City Council 2020-04-08

The meeting of the Valdosta City Council with the Florida Rivers Task Force scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled, according to Task Force Chair Rick Davis just now via telephone.

January announcment of April Task Force meeting

This meeting never actually appeared on Continue reading →