The Withlacoochee River tested dirty at GA 133 but clean downstream.

Heavy rain apparently washed something in.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida.

But in Georgia, Ashburn was at it again, with 290,000 gallons of raw sewage into Hat Creek and the Alapaha River, reported more than a week late. See separate post.
https://wwals.net/?p=65523

The weather prediction for the next ten days is thunderstorms or chance of storms, but most likely in the afternoon. If it’s like that past ten days, the rains will be here and there.

Many of the rivers are pretty high now. But if you can find one that is low enough, happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

Partly clean Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01: Bad at GA 133; Clean downstream

The City of Valdosta reported too-high E. coli for Thursday at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River: 525 cfu/100 mL, above the one-time test limit of 410.

But downstream at US 84, Valdosta got 400, not great, but below that one-time test limit.

In Florida near the bottom of the Withlacoochee River, WWALS tester Russ Tatum got 66 (pretty clean) at Allen Ramp and 133 (OK) at Holly Point. He remarked, “Expected results with the water being somewhat high and a silty dark brown.”

Notice the many spots on his plates that are not blue with bubbles. Those other spots are background fecal coliform, which is usually harmless.

Suzy Hall reviewed those results.

Chart: Mixed Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01
For context, see: https://wwals.net/issues/testing

The numbers in the chart boxes indicate E. coli levels as colony-forming units per 100 mililiters (cfu/100 mL), according to Georgia Adopt-A-Stream bacterial monitoring protocols:
Zero (0) is what we want to see, and often we do, on the Alapaha and upstream on the Suwannee Rivers.
From 1-125 is within long-term average limits according to U.S. EPA and Georgia and Florida state agencies.
From 126-409 long-term is not good, and is likely to make some people sick.
From 410-999 is likely to make some people sick; try not to get that water on you.
From 1,000 and up: high alert; best not to get close to that water without gloves; wash clothes afterward.

The letters before the numbers indicate the source of the datapoint, as in W100 means 100 cfu/100 mL found by a WWALS tester.

W: WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), Suwannee Riverkeeper
V: Valdosta, GA
L: Lowndes County, GA
Q: Quitman, GA
SGRC: Southern Georgia Regional Commission
SRWMD: Suwannee River Water Management District
FDOH: Florida Department of Health
FDEP: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Rain: From USGS and UGA and other gauges.

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman scheduled dates and locations for training up to a dozen new testing candidates.

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

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/

Allen

Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River @ 2726 SW 64th Way Jasper, FL 32052 2024-08-01

HP

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2024-08-01

 -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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