Monthly Archives: February 2025

On The Spotlight Show, Talk92.1 FM: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2025-03-06

Join us on The Spotlight Show on talk921.com at 6 PM, Thursday, March 6, 2025.
https://talk921.com

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and “Diamond” Jim Halter will talk about

[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM]
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1164828191815898

 -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/

Food and drink, speakers and song: WWALS River Revue 2025

Hahira, Georgia, February 19, 2025 — Back again on the first Saturday in September, it’s the WWALS River Revue, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia. Featuring food and drink, speakers and new songs about waterways in the Suwannee River Basin. Plus a silent auction and plaques and prizes for the songwriting winners.

[WWALS River Revue 2025 logo]
WWALS River Revue 2025 logo

WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, “it will be even more fun this year!”

There will be food and drink while you listen to speakers about the Suwannee River Basin.

You can bid on items in the silent auction.

Tickets are $65 each.
https://app.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2025

For how to sponsor or provide an item for the silent auction, follow the QRcode or go to wwals.net and scroll down to WWALS River Revue.

WWALS Board member Scotti Jay Jones said, “Don’t forget the music!”

A headliner will play, followed by finalists in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Song submissions will open April First (no fooling). Three judges will decide who wins in several categories of songs about waterways in the Basin or Estuary.

Organizing Committee member Janet Martin said, “Maybe you’d like to join the organizing committee!”

Continue reading →

New Georgia Statehouse members in the Suwannee River Basin 2025-02-19

After the 2024 election, there are two new Georgia Statehouse members in the Suwannee River Basin: Jaclyn Ford and Angie O’Steen.

For the entire list Georgia Statehouse members from the Basin, see:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-house/

[New GA Statehouse Reps, Suwannee River Basin, Jaclyn Ford Dist. 170, Angie O'Steen Dist. 169]
New GA Statehouse Reps, Suwannee River Basin, Jaclyn Ford Dist. 170, Angie O’Steen Dist. 169

Penny Houston retired, and the new Representative for Berrien County and half of each of Tift and Cook Counties is Jaclyn Ford. Continue reading →

Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05

Once a year I go to Atlanta to talk to Georgia state legislators about water issues. Also to catch local elected and appointed officials and representatives of various organizations from the most populous county and city in the Suwannee River Basin: Lowndes County and Valdosta, and nearby.

[Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05, Georgia state legislature, Railroad Freight Depot]
Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05, Georgia state legislature, Railroad Freight Depot

Lowndes County feeds the legislators quail and grits at the historic Railroad Freight Depot, and they flock to eat.

This year, the next day happened to be Okefenokee Day at the nearby Georgia State Capitol, so I did a two-day trip.

I’m still following up on contacts from both events.

Here’s what the Chairman and the Mayor had to say, Continue reading →

Full Flower Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-05-12

Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our watery living room, Banks Lake, just west of Lakeland, Georgia.

This Outing is honoring Teachers and Nurses, who get free entry.

When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 8 PM, moonrise 8:40 PM, sunset 8:19 PM, end 9:30 PM, Monday, May 12, 2025

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

[Full Flower Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, Lakeland, Georgia, Monday, May 12, 2025]
Full Flower Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, Lakeland, Georgia, Monday, May 12, 2025

Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14

Update 2025-02-21: Valdosta Sewage Spill Reports: Jackson Drive, not Street, and Sugar Creek 2025-02-17.

Valdosta’s Sugar Creek tested even worse Friday after the Thursday rains, as expected.

The Withlacoochee River downstream at State Line tested pretty clean, with the volume of river water diluting the creek contamination. Also, apparently nothing washed from Quitman out of Okapilco Creek, or it was diluted or had not yet reached the GA-FL line.

[Filthy Sugar Creek, Friday, February 14, 2025, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line]
Filthy Sugar Creek, Friday, February 14, 2025, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester Suzy Hall for Friday got 1,800 cfu/100 mL E. coli at the WaterGoat below Berta’s Kitchen parking lot. That’s well above the 1,000 alert limit, and almost four times her Wednesday result of 466, which was above the one-time test limit of 410.

So something is still washing out of Sugar Creek during rains such as the inch or more that fell on Valdosta Thursday. Probably it is just residual sewage sludge from the months-long Sugar Creek sewage spill. The Valdosta Utilities bypass is still in place, and we can hope that was the only leak on Sugar Creek.

More rain is falling today (Sunday), so best to continue avoiding Sugar Creek.

Join us Sunday, February 23, for another chainsaw cleanup, assuming the Withlacoochee River has gone back down enough by then:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-04-05

Rescheduled again to April 5, 2025, because of river closure: they were still cleaning Hurricane Helene debris out of the river through the previous date.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We are also disappointed. But neither we nor the park control hurricanes, and the park does not control the schedule of Tallahassee or the contractors for removing hurricane debris.

Join us on a leisurely paddle on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers, starting at Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs, taking out at the US 129 Boat Ramp.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-04-05, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp]
Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-04-05, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp

Continue reading →

Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13

Update 2025-02-16: Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14.

Sugar Creek wasn’t as horrible this week as last, but it still tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road and downstream for Wednesday.

That was before an inch or two of rain Thursday, which most likely washed more contamination into Sugar Creek and on into the Withlacoochee River.

[Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains]
Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains

But Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

One new sewage spill was reported in the last week in Georgia, by Ashburn, into Hat Creek upstream on the Alapaha River. See other post:
https://wwals.net/?p=66982

None were reported in Florida.

Saturday is supposed to be partly sunny, with thunderstorms Sunday.

So other than near Sugar Creek, happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend, before the rain!

We did cancel the chainsaw cleanup tomorrow, due to high water level and Sugar Creek contamination.

But there’s another one on Sunday, February 23:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading →

Five days of changes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-14

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

Update 2025-02-14: Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13.

This is the busiest week I can remember in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, yet only one new minor spill was reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia.

No new sewage spills were reported this week in the Basin in Florida.

[GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14]
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14

The Pinehurst spill of February 6 was newly reported on February 12, but for reasons given below is not our concern. It was updated the next day with Overflow Locaion of “Spill was located along highway 49 outside the city of Pinehurst. The area affected was a thickly vegetated and wooded area with no nearby homes or businesses.” Today, February 14, it was updated again to remove that Overflow Location, which is unusual.

As the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) apparently realized today, Pinehurst is not in the Suwannee River Basin. I could figure out whether it’s in the Flint or Altamaha River Basins, but for three reasons (minor spill, “Did not enter waters of the State”, and not in the Suwannee River Basin), it’s not my problem. It still showed up in the WWALS processing today because we pick up everything in Dooly County since part of that county is in the Suwannee River Basin and we don’t want to miss anything.

The Valdosta January 14 Jackson Street spill was first reported on January 17. Today’s report only adds the cause: “Debris obstruction from trash from local corrections facility.” I’m not sure what corrections facility that would be, but it was still a tiny spill that did not get into Browns Canal or down into Sugar Creek or the Withlacoochee River.

So the winner is Ashburn, with Continue reading →

Cancelled: Withlacoochee River Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup 2025-02-23

Update 2025-04-01: Try again: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River upstream from Troupville 2025-03-04.

Cancelled due to high water. It’s hard to chainsaw logs six feet under.

Join us at Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River seeking deadfalls to chainsaw and trash to collect.

Thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this one, continuing after the last one on this route.

Depending on conditions such as water level, we may instead start at Troupville Boat Ramp and go down around the Little River Confluence and up the Withlacoochee River.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 2 PM, Sunday, February 23, 2025

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

[Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2025-02-23, Langdale Park Boat Ramp Downstream to Sugar Creek]
Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2025-02-23, Langdale Park Boat Ramp Downstream to Sugar Creek

Continue reading →