Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-05-29

Update 2025-06-06: Clean Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-06-04.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean E. coli this week, upstream and down.

Whatever was amiss at Langdale Park last week is gone now. We don’t know the state of Sugar Creek: nobody tested there.

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

There’s some chance of rain today, then sunny for the weekend.

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

Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-05-29

Maybe join us tomorrow for Big Shoals St Pk to Suwannee Wayside, Suwannee River 2025-05-31.
https://wwals.net/?p=67042

Sugar Creek

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

Franks Creek

WWALS tester Debbie Smith sampled at Franks Creek, but, as happens to us all from time to time, her control slide was contaminated, so we cannot use those results.

Withlacoochee River

WWALS tester Cindy Vedas reported for Thursday from Franklinville, “Couldn’t get out car, so many yellow flies, again. They are really bad at this location . Couch thrown out. But the sign still has no bullet holes, thank goodness.”

At Staten Road she got zero (0) E. coli, and remarked, “Clean results . We could also use a chainsaw clean up.”

At Langdale Park Boat Ramp she got a clean 100 cfu/100 mL and noted, “ Park looked OK. Might need a chainsaw clean up though. Water is stagnant at this location.”

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.

GA 133 & US 84, Withlacoochee River –Valdosta Utilities, 2025-05-28

But for Wednesday Valdosta Utilities got a clean 100 at GA 133 and a very clean 80 cfu/100 mL E. coli at US 84.

WWALS tester Suzy Hall got 33 for Sunday at State Line Boat Ramp. She said, “Beautiful and almost perfect.”

WWALS tester Russ Tatum got zero (0) at Holly Point almost to the Suwannee River. He said, “Clean Withlacoochee! The river is perfect!”

Chart: Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-05-29
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.

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 testers Cindy Vedas, Russ Tatum, and John S. Quarterman reviewed the results. Such review is part of every WWALS tester’s ongoing training.

WWALS water quality testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman received some testing equipment from the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC).

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/

-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.

Sugar Creek

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Withlacoochee River

Water quality testing training and funding

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