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

Upate 2025-01-18: Alapaha River clean, Sugar Creek worse 2025-01-16.

For Wednesday water quality samples, The Little River at US 82 west of Tifton, Georgia, tested OK, as did the Withlacoochee River at GA 133, US 84, and Holly Point four miles from the Suwannee.

The New River on 18th Street in Tifton tested too high in E. coli.

We hear there is a Sugar Creek bypass, but that creek is still filthy from the sewer line break upstream of Gornto Road on down to the Withlacoochee River.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, but in Georgia one new Valdosta spill showed up, although it apparently did not get into waterways.

This weekend, I’d avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River near downstream from it. If you like rain (Saturday) or cold (Sunday), this weekend may be good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, elsewhere, such as the Little, Alapaha, Santa Fe, Ichetucknee, or Suwannee Rivers.

[OK Little, Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek, 2025-01-15]
OK Little, Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek, 2025-01-15

New River

In Tifton, the New River is basically a drainage ditch, which runs under 18th Street at Emmett Street.

[Google Streetview, 716 18th Street, Tifton, GA, New River of Withlacoochee @ 18th Street 2025-01-15]
Google Streetview, 716 18th Street, Tifton, GA, New River of Withlacoochee @ 18th Street 2025-01-15

New WWALS tester Samantha Carr chose a driveway across the ditch.

[716 18th Street, Tifton, GA, New River of Withlacoochee @ 18th Street 2025-01-15]
716 18th Street, Tifton, GA, New River of Withlacoochee @ 18th Street 2025-01-15

Her test site is highlighted on this map.

[Map: New River, 18th Street, Tifton, GA in WLRWT]
Map: New River, 18th Street, Tifton, GA in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

She got 766 cfu/100mL, which is above the 410 one-time test limit.

[Plates, 716 18th Street, Tifton, GA 2025-01-15]
Plates, 716 18th Street, Tifton, GA 2025-01-15

Little River

Samantha also tested west of Tifton on the Little River at US 82, at Five Bridges.

[Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15]
Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15

Here’s her sample bucket.

[Bucket, Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15]
Bucket, Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15

And looking upstream.

[Upstream, Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15]
Upstream, Little River @ US 82, Little River 2025-01-15

She got much better 200 cfu/100 mL. We’d like it to be below the three-test average limit of 126, but 200 is not bad.

[Plates, Little River @ US 82 2025-01-15]
Plates, Little River @ US 82 2025-01-15

You can see the Little River at Tifton is well upstream of Reed Bingham State Park. And the New River runs from Tifton to join the Withlacoochee west of Nashville, and upstream from GA 37, where the WLRWT starts on the Withlacoochee.

[Map: Little River from Tifton to Reed Bingham State Park and New River to Withlacoochee River in WLRWT]
Map: Little River from Tifton to Reed Bingham State Park and New River to Withlacoochee River in WLRWT

Valdosta Jackson Street Sewage Spill

Valdosta had a small sewage spill Tuesday, which appeared today (Friday) in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.

[2025-01-14 Valdosta Spill, 110 Jackson Street, in 2025-01-17 GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report]
2025-01-14 Valdosta Spill, 110 Jackson Street

The report says it was 1,800 gallons of raw sewage, due to debris.

That is a small amount, and the report says “Did Not Enter State Waters”.

Which makes sense, because the spill location is in downtown Valdosta, blocks from the nearest waterway, Browns Canal.

[Map: Jackson Street Sewage Spill, Valdosta, GA in WLRWT]
Map: Jackson Street Sewage Spill, Valdosta, GA in WLRWT

Sugar Creek

Valdosta’s web page 2025 Sugar Creek Spill Testing appears to show the Sugar Creek spill as stopping on January 10. We hear there is a bypass in place, presumably since that date, which was last Friday.

However, as we previously noted, Valdosta Utilities test results for Sugar Creek at Gornto Road are not going down very fast. Monday was a bit lower than Saturday and Sunday, but Tuesday was way higher, and Wednesday is back near Sunday’s result. Wednesday’s 4,590 cfu/100 mL is 4.5 times the 1,000 E. coli alert limit.

Downstream Upstream at Baytree Road, E. coli has been lower than 410 twice: Sunday and Wednesday, after a spike Monday due to rain.

It’s worth wondering whether there was more than one leak.

[Chart: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers; Dirty New River; Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15]
Chart: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers; Dirty New River; Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15
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.

Withlacoochee River

As mentioned, Valdosta Utilities got OK results at GA 133 (300) and US 84 (170).

WWALS tester Russ Tatum wrote for Wednesday at Holly Point, “Good results again this week.”

[Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2025-01-15]
Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2025-01-15

It’s certainly a nice location.

[Holly Point other, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2025-01-15]
Holly Point other, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2025-01-15

And 100 cfu/100 mL is clean.

[Plates, Holly Point 2025-01-15]
Plates, Holly Point 2025-01-15

As you can see, it’s a long way from Tifton to Florida and Russ’ location within four miles of the Suwannee River.

[Map: Tifton to Florida in WLRWT]
Map: Tifton to Florida in WLRWT

Suzy Hall reviewed the various test results.

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman delivered a test kit to new tester Samantha Carr, and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman delivered her a WWALS water quality warning sign for use at the next Tifton sewage spill site.

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

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.

 -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/