It’s not a good week for Sugar Creek or the Withlacoochee River.

Not all of the river contamination can be coming from Sugar Creek, since E. coli readings are also sky-high at North Valdosta Road, which is upstream of Sugar Creek.

Most likely some of it is coming down Cat Creek, as we discovered in previous exploratory testing. WWALS is working on a grant strategy to do systematic testing of Cat Creek, Beatty Branch, and Beaverdam Creek to get at the bottom of that. It will be expensive, because it will require DNA testing in addition to many frequent E. coli tests.

Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River, after big rain, 2025-07-23

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia since the report of the Valdosta Sugar Creek spill for July 13.

No rain is predicted for this weekend, but avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River. Remember rain could be washing other contamination into other rivers. But other than that, happy paddling, boating, swimming, and fishing.

Sugar Creek

Valdosta Utilities’ Sugar Creek results for Wednesday are way too high, 8,800 cfu/100 mL at Gornto Road, and even higher upstream at Baytree Road: 10,000. For comparison, 1,000 is the alert limit.

Table: Sugar Creek at Baytree Road and Gornto Road, 2025-07-23 — Valdosta Utilities

Their Gornto Road number was almost that high for Sunday, 7,400. Valdosta has been having sporadic rain since last weekend, which is probably what caused that.

Map: Rainfall, Withlacoochee River, 2025-07-20-25 — CoCoRaHS

Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes tells me they continue looking upstream but have found no more spills.

Since the E. coli numbers are also way high upstream of Sugar Creek on the Withlacoochee River at US 41, what we have here is probably first flush.

Table: Sugar Creek followup for Withlacoochee River, US 41 and US 84, 2025-07-23 –Valdosta Utilities

I learned that term from a Valdosta Utilities Director, three or four directors ago. First flush means when there hasn’t been rain in a while, the first big rains flush stuff out of the woods that animals have been using as latrines, out of parking lots, overflow from septic tanks, etc.

Map: Cat Creek, 2025-07-25 in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

The good news about this is that the rain may wash away most of the lingering contamination from the Valdosta Sugar Creek sewage spill.

Withlacoochee River

People keep asking: will this contamination wash all the way down the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico?

Map: Cat Creek, Withlacoochee River, 2025-07-25 –WLRWT

Probably not. There is much more water in the Suwannee River than in the Withlacoochee River. And this is not a multi-million gallon sewage spill, such as has actually had that effect.

Of course, we don’t actually know, due to lack of testing downstream. Maybe the state of Florida could test Florida rivers….

We do know that last week that had not happened, because Madison Health tested at the state line and two downstream locations for Tuesday, July 15, and got very low numbers. Farther downstream near the Suwannee, WWALS tester Russ Tatum tested on July 16 and 17 and got zero.

But by Wednesday of this week the contamination had washed as far downstream as US 84.

Table: Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84, 2025-07-23 –Valdosta Utilities

There’s also the question of whether this was enough rain to finish first flush. The Valdosta Gauge at US 41 bumped up twice, but went right back down, so maybe not.

Valdosta Withlacoochee River Gauge, 2025-07-25 –NOAA

That could mean we may see this again in the next big rain.

Chart: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River, 2025-07-23
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.

Water quality testing training and funding

If you want to get trained by WWALS water quality testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman 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/

SR

Staten Road, Withlacoochee River, 2025-07-20 –Cindy Vedas for WWALS

SC

Table: Sugar Creek at Baytree Road and Gornto Road, 2025-07-23 –Valdosta Utilities

SCW

Table: Sugar Creek followup for Withlacoochee River, US 41 and US 84, 2025-07-23 –Valdosta Utilities

VG

Valdosta Withlacoochee River Gauge, 2025-07-25 –NOAA

WR

Table: Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84, 2025-07-23 –Valdosta Utilities

TBR

Troupville Boat Ramp, Little River, 2025-07-19 –jsq for WWALS

SC

Valdosta Sewage Spill sign, Gornto Road, Sugar Creek, 2025-07-19 –jsq for WWALS

LPBR

Langdale Park Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, 2025-07-19 –jsq 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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