A WWALS water quality sample Friday at the WaterGoat on Sugar Creek tested at the alert limit for E. coli, and higher than the previous week.

This result is consistent with the higher result Valdosta Utilities got for Thursday at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, which was also higher than the previous week.

And it is consistent with the results Valdosta Utilities got two weeks ago at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek and at GA 133. That day, October 2, 2025, Valdosta Utilities got even higher results at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek.

Yet after October 2 Valdosta Utilities ceased testing Sugar Creek, One Mile Branch, and Hightower Creek, as well as North Valdosta Road on the Withlacoochee River, after the four weeks of testing required by GA-EPD after major spills had expired.

There has been no significant rain for weeks. It is very difficult to explain these high Sugar Creek results as residue of previous sewage spills washing downstream, when there has been no rain to wash it down.

Maybe Valdosta Utilities should look for a sewage leak on Hightower Creek upstream from St. Augustine Road.

And if Valdosta won’t voluntarily continue testing when results are too high, maybe it’s time to ask the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) to require the city to do so.

This image is an overview. Scroll down for the details.

Filthy Sugar Creek Friday, WWALS 2025-10-17, Consistent with GA 133, Valdosta Utilities 2025-10-16

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →