Update 2025-05-30: Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-05-29.

The Withlacoochee River tested too high for E. coli for Thursday at Langdale Park, but clean upstream and OK downstream.

Whatever is amiss at Langdale Park, it’s not Sugar Creek, which is downstream. It could be Cherry Creek or Stillhouse Branch coming out of the Country Club. Or it could be coming from septic tanks west of Valdosta and the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County. Or something else that washed in with the spotty rains Wednesday.

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

No rain is predicted until Monday.

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

Filthy Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River 2025-02-22, Clean upstream and downstream

Or join us this weekend at Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, Florida, on the banks of the Suwannee River.
https://wwals.net/?p=67238

Sugar Creek

Nobody tested on Sugar Creek this week, so nobody knows what its water quality is.

Withlacoochee River

WWALS tester Cindy Vedas got very clean 66 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Staten Road, but over-the-alert-limit 1,533 at Langdale Park.

She noted about Langdale Park, “ Something’s going on here. Pretty bad results.”

Also, “Did a trash pickup. Cans were almost empty. They have also mowed.” Thanks, Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) and Lowndes County Public Works for keeping up Langdale Park.

Valdosta Utilities reported nothing for US 41, because it was only testing there as part of the major spill followup testing.

Table: Valdosta Withlacoochee Results 2025-05-21

It got a pretty clean 190 at GA 133 and a very clean 80 cfu/100 mL E. coli at US 84.

Chart: Filthy Langdale Park 2025-05-22
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.

People sometimes forget that Valdosta extends upstream from North Valdosta Road.

Map: Langdale Park in the WWALS Valdosta Sewer Map,
using data from Valdosta Utilities via the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) and an open records request.
The round blue icons indicate manholes.

The little stream coming in from the east just north of North Valdosta Road is Stillhouse Branch.

The larger stream coming out of the lake north of that is Cherry Creek.

Cindy Vedas tested up near Staten Road, at the top right of this map.

Here’s the same area in VALORGIS.

Map: Langdale Park in VALORGIS

The green lines are sewers: Valdosta’s east of the river, and Lowndes County’s west of the river.

Notice north of North Valdosta Road there’s a trailer park and Riverchase Drive, among other things, that do not have sewers. Which means they use septic tanks.

And there is construction going on at the corner of Val Del Road and North Valdosta Road, uphill from the Withlacoochee River, upstream of Langdale Park.

This is a context map showing where Langdale Park is on the Withlacoochee River, 41 river miles upstream from Florida and almost 69 river miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

Map: Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS Water Quality Tester John S. Quarterman reviewed the results. Such review is part of every WWALS tester’s ongoing training.

WWALS water quality testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman held refresher training for testers who need it.

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.

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/

staten

Staten Road, Withlacoochee River @ Staten Road, 2025-05-22 –Cindy Vedas for WWALS

LPBR

Langdale Park Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River @ North Valdosta Road, 2025-05-22 –Cindy Vedas for WWALS

 -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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