Update 2025-01-17: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15.

Update 2025-01-13: Sugar Creek still filthy Saturday in Valdosta test results 2025-01-11.

WWALS has a new intern, who will also do water quality testing in Tifton, Georgia, on the New and Little Rivers.

New WWALS Intern, Samantha Carr, Southern Regional Technical College, Tifton, Georgia

New WWALS Intern Samantha Carr passed the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) Chemical and Bacterial training.

AAS Certificates, Intern Samantha Carr, Advisor Elizabeth Harrell, WWALS water quality testing kit, Trainer Gretchen Quarterman

Pleased Faculty Advisor Elizabeth Harrell presented her with the certificates.

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman shows the testing kit

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman gave her a testing kit and showed both the Intern and the Advisor what is in it.

Suwannee Riverkeeper safety vest

Suwannee Riverkeeper and WWALS Executive Director John S. Quarterman signed the intern agreement with Southern Regional Technical College.

Southern Regional Technical College, Clarence Smith Fish and Wildlife Management Program

He gave the Intern a WWALS warning sign to place at the site of the next Tifton sewage spill.

WWALS caution sign, Samantha Carr, Tifton sewage spill sites, Elizabeth Harrell, Gretchen Quarterman

Sites of previous Tifton sewage spills are marked on the WWALS WLRWT map.

Map: Tifton Spill Sites in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

Testing upstream from those spill sites should be fairly straightforward: US 82 for the Little River and W 12th Street for the New River, possibly plus some creek test sites.

Downstream on the Little River from the notorious Golden Road Lift Station on Willow Creek above Cow House Branch probably requires going to Omega-Eldorado Road.

Downstream on the New River for most Tifton spill sites would be at US 82. But downstream from Evergeen Drive would require getting below Gum Branch down at Lower Brookfield Road.

Samantha will be looking into appropriate sites, and related matters.

Map: Context for Tifton Spill Sites in WLRWT

Samantha has already helped WWALS before she was even an intern, by videoing the November 2024 meeting of the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council.

Samantha Carr videoing

The WWALS Board will vote this Sunday (tomorrow) on adding Samantha to the WWALS Testing Committee, which is where we do quality assurance via committee review.

And we have plenty of other tasks for her, as well.

Welcome aboard, Samantha Carr!

 -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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