Thanks to the landowners, on Friday John S. Quarterman tested ILM Pond at the top of Hightower Creek, west of I-75, and found its level well below its outflow pipes. Also, it tested pretty clean, despite the geese that land there. So that can’t be the source of contamination into Hightower Creek.

On Thursday, Suzy Hall tested Hightower Creek at St. Augustine Road and found it still dirty. Downstream, she also tested Sugar Creek at the WaterGoat and found it OK, not far upstream from the Withlacoochee River.

There’s no water in Hightower Creek all the way from ILM Pond under I-75. Until just below the Sam’s Club detention pond. So that seems like a good place to test next.

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

Dirty Hightower Creek 2026-01-08, Clean ILM Pond 2026-01-09, Sugar Creek OK, Where is the source?

This is an update to the WWALS Friday Weekly Water Quality Report in which we found the Withlacoochee River clean, and the Santa Fe River.

The inch of rain Saturday last week had little effect, and the drizzle this Saturday probably even less.

No new sewage spills have been reported since then in Georgia or Florida.

The weather is supposed to be fine but cold today, so if you can find a river with enough water, and happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing.

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 →