Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, dirty Sugar Creek 2023-12-28

Update 2024-01-06: Three Clean Rivers 2024-01-04.

We got good results for two sites on the Santa Fe River for Wednesday, and bad results on Sugar Creek of the Withlacoochee River, plus excellent results for two Withlacoochee River sites for Thursday. All the other WWALS testers are off for the holidays, but Valdosta’s Wednesday results on the Withlacoochee River in Georgia were good.

There has been no significant rain in a week, so the E. coli washed into the rivers by the previous big rains has gotten diluted or washed downstream.

No more rain is predicted until Thursday, and the rivers are back down to reasonable levels. So if you don’t mind being chilly, happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend, and Happy New Year!

Also, don’t forget on January 6th, Iche Nippy Dip Day Swim and Paddle, Ichetucknee River, Ichetucknee Headspring, 2024-01-06.

Chart, Rivers and Creek, Map 2023-12-27

In the last week, no pollution spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida.

But in Georgia a Quitman spill was reported this Wednesday, December 27, for a 2,916 gallon raw sewage spill ten days earlier, December 17, at the lift station at the Quitman wastewater treatment plant on Highland Road. Or so I assume, although the Facility Name is given as “Dekalb County Department of Watershed Management (Snapfinger Creek AWWTF)”. That’s probably just a typo. Also, the report says the sewage went into “Ditch”, but I’d bet that ditch leads to Okapilco Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

However, that spill was too small and happened too long ago to have much effect now.

Valdosta did report daily test results on Knights Creek for a week after its December 15 spill of 425,000 gallons of raw sewage near 1800 E. Park Ave. and Knights Creek, which flows into Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River, into Knights Creek, which leads to Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, the Alapaha River, and the Suwannee River.

Joanne Tremblay tested two sites on the Santa Fe River Wednesday. At the US 27 Ramp, she wrote, “The river has dropped considerably and the ecoli levels are down. 0+2+1=3/3=1*100=100 cfu/100 mL.” That’s back within acceptable levels.

About Three Rivers Estates Gauge, she wrote, “Waters were just beginning to receed from flood stage. The location I picked is slightly above the mouth of the Ichetucknee, at the base of the water guage pictured in the folder. The E. coli count was 0+1+2 = 3/3= 1*100= 100 cfu/100 mL.”

WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall tested at the WaterGoat on Sugar Creek, a bit upstream from the Withlacoochee River, and remarked, “Water is high and still. 8,3,2=13×100/3=433 cfu/100 mL.” That is higher than the 410 one-time limit, so too high.

Russ Tatum tested both Allen Ramp and Holly Point on the Withlacoochee River for Thursday, and got zero E. coli at both.

WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman delivered testing supplies to several testers, and added some new test sites.

If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester, please fill out the form:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084

As previously noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023.

Chart: Rivers and Creek 2023-12-27
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

So some WWALS “beaches” for which we have recent data are still red, and others maybe should be, on the map.

For those who may be wondering how the two Santa Fe River test sites relate to the Withlacoochee and Alapaha test sites, here’s a map with the US 27 Ramp on the Santa Fe River highlighted towards center bottom.

Map: Rivers and Creek 2023-12-27 in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Basin

Here’s a live Swim Guide Map.

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for another generous grant for water quality testing equipment and materials.

You or your organization could also donate to the WWALS volunteer water quality testing program.

There are more images below.

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Short Link:

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.

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TREPO Gauge

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