Pictures: A boatload of tires out of Sugar Creek 2020-10-10

We got 577 pounds of trash and a bunch of tires out of Sugar Creek, as part of the River and Creek Cleanup, Lowndes County, Valdosta, and WWALS 2020-10-10. Probably more than that; that number is from one record sheet.

Tire boat, trash ashore and recorded

WLRWT, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, Withlacoochee River, Special thanks to Bobby McKenzie, Scotti Jay, Tom Potter, Sara Jay, Elizabeth Brunner, and Joe Johnson, among WWALS regulars, plus at least seventeen more volunteers. And thanks to Current Problems for coming up from Gainesville, Florida, to help.

This was a very productive cleanup, getting some trash out of Sugar Creek before it got to the Withlacoochee River. It makes paddling from Sugar Creek to Troupville Boat Ramp more enjoyable, on the WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

This Sugar Creek cleanup was six weeks after WWALS discovered boats would be necessary to get the floating trash.

The tires haven’t come back, possibly partly because tire amnesties happen more often after WWALS got six counties and cities to pass resolutions that helped the Georgia legislature get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to stop the fee diversions that had siphoned off money for tire amnesties and many other things.

But the trash keeps coming back. Valdosta’s one trash trap in Sugar Creek, along where we cleaned up that time, is helping keep trash out of the river.

Valdosta needs to step up its game and start enforcing its own ordinances to stop trash getting off of parking lots, and that require strategic placement of trash cans, so many per number of parking spaces.

For much more about the trash situation, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash

There are more pictures below.

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/