Update 2025-01-10: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Alapaha River 2025-01-09.

Does that look like sewage is spilling out of it?

Open sewer line in Sugar Creek, 700 feet north of RR trestle

Looks to me like darker water coming from that pipe into Sugar Creek, when I was there yesterday.

Let’s go by the Valdosta press release: “Crews have been dispatched to the location and are actively working to establish containment and bypasses for the affected portion of the line.”

Open sewer line and Sugar Creek, 2025:01:07 15:26:06, 30.8537951, -83.3152965

Evidently I misheard about the bypass already being in place, because I did not see a bypass yet.

There were about half a dozen people with RPI (sewer system contractors) walking the railroad tracks.

RPI trucks south of Outdoor Living, 2025:01:07 15:11:41, 30.8577322, -83.3169078

All the way from the railroad trestle, which is about 700 feet south (upstream) of the break.

Railroad signal from sewer break, 2025:01:07 15:26:13, 30.8537951, -83.3152965

They told me they were going to move the sewer line west across the railroad tracks all the way from the trestle to some unspecified point north.

Map: Spill Location Trestle to Brighton Road in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

That makes more sense that its current route, crossing under the railroad a few hundred feet north (downstream) from the trestle, then running along Sugar Creek at its closest to the railroad.

Map: Sugar Creek RR Trestle to Brighton Road –VALORGIS 2024-01-08

The spill is exactly where I thought it would be, where the sewer line was already exposed in the creek back in 2021.

Railroad sewer pipe, 2021-07-10, 10:09:16, 30.8538650, -83.3154290

Somebody asked me: why would Valdosta put a sewer line in a creek?

Well, you’d have to go back to the installation records to be sure, but it is likely they did not do that.

On this aerial from 1993, the creek is farther east at that point, farther from the railroad track.

Map: Sugar Creek Straight –Google Earth Pro 1993-02-01

Even in 1993 1999, the creek is still pretty straight there, east of its current location.

Map: Sugar Creek Straight –Google Earth Pro 1999-01-25

But now it is very close to the tracks.

Map: Sugar Creek Moved –Google Earth Pro 2024-02-26

Waterways do this naturally. Sand beaches build up on one side, and the other bank erodes. In this case, the west (left) bank where the sewer line is exposed.

Now Valdosta gets to move the sewer line out of the creek. Looking forward to that bypass first.

At least it’s much easier to get in there now.

Wide clearing and digger near RR signal, 2025:01:07 15:17:47, 30.8550911, -83.3156923

They’ve cleared a wide path.

Manhole, 2025:01:07 15:16:52, 30.8555369, -83.3157481

All the way…

Access cleared south towards RR trestle, 2025:01:07 15:15:58, 30.8559576, -83.3160207

From the Outdoor Living parking lot, which leads to Gornto Road.

Access cleared back to Outdoor Living at Gornto Road, 2025:01:07 15:15:56, 30.8559576, -83.3160207

Past Sugar Creek Beach, which is another example of natural meandering.

Context, Sugar Creek Beach, 2025:01:07 15:13:37, 30.8569568, -83.3164498

And the feeder creek off the railroad just south of the parking lot.

Feeder creek off of railroad, 2025:01:07 15:12:47, 30.8573425, -83.3165516

Down at Gornto Road, there were other workers at the bridge. Notice the yellow diamond WWALS contamination warning sign below the bridge sign.

Road work, Gornto Road, w. WWALS warning sign below bridge sign, 2025:01:07 15:41:18, 30.8596227, -83.3178064

Our sign is also still up in front of the former Berta’s Kitchen, on the path down to Sugar Creek.

WWALS warning sign in front of Berta’s Kitchen, 2025:01:07 15:43:17, 30.8617261, -83.3188234

The Valdosta sewage spill sign in still up at the bottom of Berta’s parking lot, on the way to the WaterGoat, not far upstream on Sugar Creek from the Withlacoochee River.

Valdosta sewage spill sign above WaterGoat, 2025:01:07 15:42:43, 30.8617783, -83.3188591

Our WWALS warning sign is still up at Baytree Road; here’s a picture from Thursday.

WWALS Warning Sign, Baytree Road, Sugar Creek, 2025:01:02 12:17:13, 30.8470692, -83.3135572

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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