Clean Sugar Creek and Little River 2025-04-09; Dirty downstream Withlacoochee River 2025-04-10

Drum roll, please!

The long-awaited, yet unexpected: clean Sugar Creek!

Even after the rain Monday.

Also the Little River was clean upstream and down, and the Withlacoochee River was clean near Valdosta.

But downstream the Withlacoochee River was dirty. Makes me wonder what happened in Quitman?

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

No rain is predicted for the next ten days.

The rivers are still down to boatable levels (except for the Santa Fe at the Ichetucknee River Confluence).

So happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!

Clean Sugar Creek and Little River 2025-04-09, Clean upstream but Dirty downstream Withlacoochee River 2025-04-10

Join us this Saturday for A Day in the Woods, Alapaha River, Gaskins Forest Education Center, 2025-04-12.
https://wwals.net/?p=67234

Or come help this Sunday to get deadfalls out of the Last Mile, Withlacoochee River, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2025-04-13.
https://wwals.net/?p=67422

For these and other WWALS outings and events, see: https://wwals.net/outings/

Little River

WWALS Tester Samantha Carr got, south of Tifton,

for Omega-Eldorado Road Bridge: 2+3+6=(11/3)*100= 366 cfu/100mL
for Lott Road Bridge: 2+3+0=(5/3)*100= 166 cfu/100mL

Those results are both below the 410 one-time test limit, so pretty good.

WWALS tester Gretchen Quarterman got

0+1+2 = 3/3 * 100 =100 cfu/100ml

at Troupville Boat Ramp, down near the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River.

That’s below the 126 three-test average limit, so very clean.

Sugar Creek

Gretchen Quarterman tested three locations on Sugar Creek, upstream (south) to downstream (north).

Baytree Road: 0 + 1 + 0 = 1/3 * 100 =33.333 cfu/100ml
Gornto Road: 0 + 1 + 1 = 2/3 * 100 =66.667 cfu/100ml
WaterGoat: 0 + 1 + 2 = 3/3 * 100 = 100 cfu/100ml

All those results are clean. She remarked, “Almost all of the blue colonies were dead (no gas). Results are somewhat surprising given that it rained on Monday.”

Withlacoochee River

Valdosta Utilities got 350 at GA 133 and 180 at US 84, both downstream from Sugar Creek.

WWALS tester Russ Tatum got at Holly Point: 5 + 8 + 8 = 21 / 3 = 7 * 100 = 700 cfu/100ml.

This is bad, higher than the 410 one-time test limit.

He noted, “Dirty Withlacoochee here in Florida.”

Chart: Clean Sugar Creek and Little River 2025-04-09; Dirty Downstream Withlacoochee River 2025-04-10
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.

Map: Sugar Creek
in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

Map: Omega-Eldorado Road Bridge, Little River
in the WWALS WLRWT map.

Map: NOAA Gauges 2025-04-11
in the NOAA National Water Prediction Service.

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS Water Quality Tester Kim Tanner reviewed the results. Such review is part of every WWALS tester’s ongoing training.

If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester Gretchen Quarterman, 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/

-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/

Short Link:

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.

Little River

Sugar Creek

Withlacoochee River

Water quality testing training and funding

LittleOmega

LittleLott

TBR

BT

GR

WG

HP

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