Monthly Archives: January 2022

Blue Sink, Sullivan Slough –Susan Liden 2021-01-18

Update 2022-01-21: Sullivan Slough and Blue Sink by Amanda Davis 2022-01-18.

Sullivan Slough is the real name of what we’ve been calling Chervil Drive Distributary, and Blue Sink is what local people call Chervil Drive Sinkhole.

Sullivan Blue Sink is where Withlacoochee River water ends up after flowing into Sullivan Slough, 0.83 miles downstream from Florida Campsites Boat Ramp, 0.73 miles upstream from the FL 6 bridge, and 0.83 miles up from Madison Blue Spring.

Traditionally, this has been a popular local swimming spot. However, the land containing the sink sold recently, so status is unclear now. We do have an offer from somebody with land nearby to tour the area.

Susan Liden sent these pictures. Thanks, Susan!

[Blue Sink and Sullivan Slough]
Blue Sink and Sullivan Slough

This one I think is particularly impressive. Continue reading →

Third Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Third Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River

Valdosta, Georgia, January 19, 2021 — Looks like there will be plenty of water for this annual eleven-mile river paddle, past the future site of Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, along the west side of the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, past Valdosta’s clean outfall of its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, with many creeks, oaks, cypresses, pines, fish, turtles, and maybe an alligator, down to Spook Bridge, so scary it has its own movie.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James said, “I am excited to partner once again with WWALS, plus this time with Lowndes County, to show people our fabulous blackwater rivers, only a few miles from City Hall and VSU. Valdosta is proud to hardly ever have a sewage spill anymore, and now we’re working on eliminating trash from the river. We remain committed to preventing any issues that may impact our Withlacoochee River. I invite everyone to come out and join us for a day of fellowship on the river!” 

“Come on down to where I used to fish as a child, and with my children!” said Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter. “I’ve spoken at this paddle every year, and this year I hope you will paddle.”

“Welcome to this one of our many paddles,” said WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman. “We have at least one daytime river paddle a month, in Florida or Georgia, plus an evening Full Moon paddle at Banks Lake, near Lakeland, GA. We’ll be testing temperatures with an infrared thermometer as people arrive. If you’re ill in any way, please stay home.” Continue reading →

Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Trash, Okefenokee –Suwannee Riverkeeper on Scott James Radio 2022-01-20

Update 2022-01-26: Videos: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Trash, Swamp: Suwannee Riverkeeper on Scott James Radio 2020-01-20 2022-01-20.

Update 2022-01-19: Changed to 8:30 AM.

Thursday morning at 8AM 8:30 AM, Suwannee Riverkeeper will be on Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio, about the annual 11-mile Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle on the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers coming up in a week, the trash situation of Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, and how you can ask the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to stop a strip mine far too near the Okefenokee Swamp, and ask GA-EPD to stop that second wood pellet plant in Adel while you’re at it.

We may also talk about water trails, water quality testing, and who knows what else.

[Suwannee Riverkeeper and Scott James, 92.1 FM, 2021-10-19]
Suwannee Riverkeeper and Scott James, 92.1 FM, 2021-10-19

When: 8 AM 8:30 AM, Thursday, January 20, 2022

Where: Talk 92.1 FM radio, Scott James drivetime show
http://talk921.com/

Listen: Over the air, or through the radio show’s own website, or through any of several online listening services.

Event: facebook

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see Continue reading →

Sugar Creek Trash 2022-01-15

Trash lined both sides of Sugar Creek all the way to the Withlacoochee River Saturday.

Trash jams behind their houses probably don’t make people very happy in Wood Valley subdivision half a mile down the river.

At the proposed site of Troupville River Camp and Troupville River Park, trashjams at the Little River Confluence make those projects less viable, despite promotion by One Valdosta-Lowndes, VLPRA, Valdosta, Lowndes County, and WWALS.

Floridians do not thank Valdosta for this trash gift, which trash washes downstream into Florida and the Suwannee River, onwards to the Gulf.

[Trash down Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River]
Trash down Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River

This problem has been known to the City of Valdosta since at least 2010, when it finished its Stormwater Master Plan (SWMP). The SWMP describes and includes a photograph of the notorious Sugar Creek trashjam near the bottom of the Salty Snapper property. Continue reading →

Chervil Drive Distributary, Withlacoochee River 2022-01-13

Update 2022-01-21: Blue Sink, Sullivan Slough –Susan Liden 2021-01-18.

Another Withlacoochee River distributary to a sinkhole! This one revealed by WWALS member and archaeologist Tom Baird. I’m calling it Chervil Drive Distributary because we don’t know any more traditional or official name for it. It’s downstream from the Chitty Bend East Distributary and on the other side of the river.

[Chervil Distributary, Withlacoochee River, Madison County, FL]
Chervil Distributary, Withlacoochee River, Madison County, FL, in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

Another interesting feature is further down river on the right bank about a mile above Madison Blue Springs. At flood, water pours through a gap in the limestone bank and floods a large channel that goes back to a deep sink. The weight of water in the past broke through the ceiling of a cavern and created a beautiful, clear, good-sized swimming hole. It was evidently a popular swimming and picnic spot in the past. Don’t know the correct name of the feature; my wife and I call it “Thanksgiving Spring”, because we found it while hiking around one Thanksgiving Day. However, it’s not a spring (no water comes from it), but an opening to the water table. Nice and cool on a hot day. J

Continue reading →

More than 40 scientists oppose strip mine near Okefenokee Swamp 2021-11-30

Dozens of scientists across the U.S. have written a letter spelling out dangers of strip mining near the Okefenokee Swamp.

They couldn’t cover everything, but they found scientific evidence running from habitat loss, fire risk, and lowering the Floridan Aquifer, to dark skies, tourism, and economy, including: “Mining will impact the water quality of the Okefenokee Swamp and downstream rivers, including the St Mary’s and Suwannee Rivers, through release of stored chemicals, including toxic heavy metals.”

You can mention the scientists’ letter when you ask the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to deny the miners’ permit applications.

[Heavy Mineral Mining In The Atlantic Coastal Plain-0006]
The mine site is labeled Saunders Tract in the middle of this map. See Figure 5.

The situation is no different from when DuPont tried to mine next to the Swamp twenty years ago. As Gordon Jackson points out in The Brunswick News (December 9, 2021), “The argument two decades ago and today is there has never been a comprehensive study to show how much of an impact, if any, disturbing the layered soil would have on the refuge.”

Naturally, the miners disagreed, according to Emily Jones for WABE (December 1, 2021): Continue reading →

Jennings Bridge, Alapaha River 2022-01-05

Ken Sulak, retired from USGS, sent this update on the Alapaha River bridge site 0.8 miles downstream from Sullivan Launch Sasser Landing, or 0.64 miles downstream from the CR 150 bridge. Plus a likely old ferry site, and maybe a previous location of Sullivan Launch Sasser Landing.

[Jennings Bridge, Alapaha River, c. 1989]
Jennings Bridge, Alapaha River, c. 1989 –Florida Memory

This is the site of the ‘Jennings Bridge’, a steel through-truss bridge, apparently built around 1902-1903. Some online bridge websites state that this is the oldest steel/iron highway bridge in Florida. But, that is doubtful—if the construction date I have is correct. For example, the ‘Adams Bridge’ aka ‘Steel Bridge’ in White Springs was built in 1891, and the original 2-span bowstring style bridge, the ‘Lee Bridge’ over the Withlacoochee (right where the current CR-141 bridge is located) may have been built in the late 1880s. I would like to explore the riverbank and look at what remains of the bridge supports. If there are cutoff Lally columns, then the Jennings Bridge was probably indeed built around 1902-1903. But if the supports are old limerock concrete or brick, then it would have been built before 1898.

[Jennings Bridge in WWALS ARWT map]
Jennings Bridge in the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) map.

Anyway, I was just writing to note the name of the Jennings Bridge—you might want to add that to your interactive map. Hinton’s 1976 History of Hamilton County calls it by that name, as well as Florida Memory. Some folks say it collapsed in the late 1970s, one article says 1981, Florida Memory Archive has several photos of the falling-apart, but still-standing bridge dated 1989.

Continue reading →

Video: Turner Bridge to FL 6, Suwannee River 2021-12-16

Here’s a video of the mid-December 2021 Ken Sulak Suwannee River paddle, the part from Turner Bridge to Cypress Creek South Launch at FL 6.

FL 6 bridge, Suwannee River 2021-12-16

The images are ten seconds apart. You can see Mike Byerly’s canoe parked over one of the Lally columns of Turner Bridge in the river. You can see Ken Sulak drop a magnet to confirm that it is metal. Continue reading →

Bad US 84 Wednesday, good Withlacoochee River Thursday 2022-01-13

Update 2022-01-21: Bad Withlacoochee River water quality 2022-01-20.

Rains last weekend got contamination into the Withlacoochee River upstream at US 84, still showing up Wednesday in Valdosta results. But all the WWALS results for Thursday and downstream Wednesday showed acceptable low levels of E. coli.

So I’d paddle and fish in the Withlacoochee River today. Not so sure about swimming: it’s cold.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

As you can see, Valdosta got bad results at US 84 for both Monday and Wednesday. Continue reading →

No Build: FDOT toll road heading north towards the Suwannee Basin 2022-01-13

Floridians, please go to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Northern Turnpike Extension web page and tell FDOT we don’t need any more toll roads. Here’s where you can say No Build:
https://floridasturnpike.com/turnpike-projects/featured-projects/northern-turnpike-extension/

Doesn’t matter that No Build isn’t listed as an option. Tell them anyway.

[Routes with No Build sign]
Routes with No Build sign

Please also ask your state legislative delegation to stop this boondogle.

This new push for an unnecessary toll road is ignoring previous county and city resolutions against it. So ask them to pass another one, or a new one if they didn’t before. Here’s a draft resulution by the No Roads to Ruin coalition (Suwannee Riverkeeper is a member of NRTR).

Dunnellon already passed a resolution on Monday, December 21, 2021. Continue reading →