Three clean rivers 2024-02-07 | WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

Update 2024-02-16: Clean rivers and creek 2024-02-14.

We got good results for Wednesday for the Alapaha, Withlacoochee, and Santa Fe Rivers.

Valdosta’s Monday upstream Withlacoochee River and Three Mile Branch results were too high after the Sunday rain. Thanks to Valdosta Acting Utilities Director Jason Barnes for the Valdosta Wednesday results at GA 133 (OK) and US 84 (bad). He promises those and the US 41 (North Valdosta Road) Wednesday results will be on valdostacity.com website next week.

No rain is predicted for this weekend.

In the past week, no sewage spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

So I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River from US 84 to the state line, but other than that, happy fishing, paddling, and swimming this weekend.

Chart, Three Clean Rivers, Map 2024-02-07

Or join us tomorrow (Saturday) for Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and Paddle or Sunday for Sugar Creek to Troupville Chainsaw Cleanup.

Chart: Three Clean Rivers 2024-02-07
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

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

Kimberly Godden Tanner reported results for samples taken Wednesday at two Alapaha River sites. She remarked, “Going to try to test on Wednesdays to avoid the rush on Friday afternoons. We will see how it goes.” In an unusual twist, while the results were within the one-time test limit, they were higher than the Withlacoochee River results.

Naylor Park Beach: 3+2+4=9/3=3×100= 300 cfu/100 mL.

Lakeland Boat Ramp 3+0+3=6/3=2×100= 200 cfu/100 mL.

Russ Tatum reported Wednesday results for two Withlacoochee River sites, “Good results. Water is at normal level, light tannic in color and somewhat opaque.”

Holly Point: 0 + 1 + 0 = 0 / 3 = .33 * 100 = 33 cfu/100 mL.

Allen Ramp: 1 + 1 + 0 = 2 / 3 = .66 * 100 = 66 cfu/100 mL.

Joanne Tremblay reported two sites for the Santa Fe River for Wednesday.

She reported two dates for O’Leno Swimming Dock.

For Sunday, February 4, she noted, “I took this soon after the Chemours wastewater spill. Water is high.”

0+0+2=2/3=.66*100=66 cfu/100 mL.

For Wednesday, February 7, she wrote, “What’s interesting about this spot is that the river get lots of aeration before it gets to this point. I wonder whether this bacterial could be from the family of capybara that live between the rapids and the dock.”

0+2+0=2/3=.66*100=66 cfu/100 mL.

About those capybara, she added, “They have been sighted, but not confirmed. A friend, and I paddled by the areas month ago and spotted a clan from a distance. They look larger and more blockish than the otter. They were as big and moved ungainly, they did not have the smooth ululating gait that one associates with otters.”

Also for Wednesday, she noted for the US 27 Ramp, “water clear and clean. YEAH!”

0+0+0=0/3=0 cfu/100 mL.

WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall reviewed all the results.

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

The next training is tomorrow, this Saturday, February 10, 2024, at Saunders Park in Valdosta, Georgia, by WWALS Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman.

All the WWALS “beaches” for which we have recent data are green, except for Langdale Park and GA 133, which are still red from Valdosta’s Monday results, on the map.

Here’s a map with O’Leno Canoe Launch highlighted towards the center, next to O’Leno Swimming Dock.

Map: Three Clean Rivers 2024-02-07

in the WWALS map of all public landings in 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/

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