WWALS got some OK E. coli results on Sugar Creek this week.

And Valdosta Utilities got clean results for the Withlacoochee River.

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

Rain is predicted this weekend and every day this coming week.

Since these recent tests were after previous rains, apparently we’re past first flush. That means whatever was in the woods has washed out now, so more rain may not cause much contamination.

So as near as we can tell, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend, if you can beat the rain!

Clean Withlacoochee River, and Sugar Creek, More Rain coming, 2025-06-12

Maybe join us Thursday evening by zoom for How Humans Affect the Aquifer, a WWALS Webinar, by Dennis J. Price, P.G., 2025-06-19
https://wwals.net/?p=67740

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester John S. Quarterman sampled Thursday, and got

• 166 cfu/100 mL at Baytree Road,
• 133 at the Nortfolk Southern Railroad,
• 233 at Gornto Road, and
• 166 at the WaterGoat.

Those are all below the one-time test limit of 410, so that’s good, or at least OK.

For more about those Sugar Creek samples, see Sampling Sugar Creek 2025-06-12.
https://wwals.net/?p=67780

Withlacoochee River

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

Table: GA 133 and US 84, Test Results 2025-06-11 —Valdosta Utilities

For Wednesday Valdosta Utilities reported 380 (OK) at GA 133 and 70 (very good) at US 84, both downstream from Sugar Creek.

Chart: Clean Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek 2025-06-12
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.

The Gornto Road Bridge is highlighted on this map of Sugar Creek. That creek flows south to north, so the WaterGoat is north of Gornto Road. Baytree Road is near the bottom of the map, and the railroad crossing is about a third of the way up to Gornto.

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

Water quality testing training and funding

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

WWALS water quality testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman delivered testing supplies to a tester.

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/

SG

All the incubated Sugar Creek plates

BTR

Baytree Road: 5 + 1 + 1 = 7 * 100 / 3 = 166 cfu/100 mL

NSRR

NS RR: 2 + 1 + 2 = 5 * 100 / 3 = 133 cfu/100 mL

GR

Gornto Road: 2 + 6 + 1 = 8 * 100 / 3 = 233 cfu/100 mL

WG

WaterGoat: 1 + 2 + 2 = 5 * 100 / 3 = 166 cfu/100 mL

Tables

Table: GA 133 and US 84, Valdosta Utilities Test Results 2025-06-11

 -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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