WWALS got filthy river results on the Withlacoochee River at US 41 and Langdale Park Boat Ramp for Monday, but Valdosta Utilities got even worse at GA 133 and US 84 for Tuesday.

In between, WWALS got pretty bad on Hightower Creek, but the worst on Sugar Creek, both for Tuesday.

Yet downstream in Florida, WWALS got clean on the Withlacoochee River for Tuesday.

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

So this filthiness is probably first flush after the Sunday rains. That’s a utilities term: after a long drought, a big rain washes the woods, which animals have been using as a latrine.

If so, the waterways will clean up in a few days as the water runs. But I’d avoid all these for a few days.

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

Filthy Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek 2026-02-17, After big rains, But clean far downstream

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.

Chart: Filthy Withlacoochee River Sugar Creek, 2026-02-17 –WWALS composite spreadsheet
For context see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing
 
Previous WWALS water quality reports are here:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results
 
Also follow that link for the underlying spreadsheet of water quality, sewage spills, and rainfall from Georgia and Florida sources for the Suwannee River Basin.

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.

Creeks

WWALS tester Suzy Hall referred to her results for Hightower Creek at St. Augustine Road as “less than favorable.”

Hightower Creek @ St. Augustine Road 2026-02-17 –Suzy Hall for WWALS

933 cfu/100 mL is well above the 410 one-time test limit.

Plates, Hightower Creek at St. Augustine Road 2026-02-17 –Suzy Hall for WWALS

But for Sugar Creek at the Watergoat she noted, “Results are in and they are gross. I knew when I saw Sugar Creek it wasn’t going to be good. The color tells the story on that creek.”

Sugar Creek @ WaterGoat, 2026-02-17 –Suzy Hall for WWALS

She doesn’t mean the color of the water. The color of the petrifilm, the plates. When they turn that peculiar color and are jam-full of E. coli colonies, there’s no way you can count them. So TNTC, for Too Numerous to Count. That’s the worst we can measure.

Plates, Sugar Creek @ WaterGoat 2026-02-17 –Suzy Hall for WWALS

Withlacoochee River

For Monday upstream at US 41 aka North Valdosta Road, WWALS tester John S. Quarterman got 2,166 cfu/100 mL.

Looking downstream to the US 41 bridge, 2026:02:16 15:31:23, –jsq for WWALS 30.8932756, -83.3184375

That’s more than twice the 1,000 alert limit.

Plates, US 41, 2026-02-16 –jsq for WWALS

Slightly downstream at Langdale Park Boat Ramp, he got 2,166 cfu/100 mL.

WWALS Water Trail signs @ Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 2026:02:16 14:27:22, –jsq for WWALS 30.8876530, -83.3236479

That’s also filthy, and not significantly different than at US 41.

Plates, Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 2026-02-16 –jsq for WWALS

But that’s nothing. For Tuesday, Valdosta Utilities got 9,210 at GA 133. That’s downstream from Sugar Creek. Presumably the filthy Withlacoochee River water somewhat diluted the very filthy Sugar Creek water.

Table: GA 133, US 84, 2026-02-17 –Valdosta Utilities

Farther down, Valdosta Utilities got 2,960 at US 84, presumably diluted by the Little River Confluence. .

Forty-seven river miles below US 84, WWALS tester Russ Tatum got 66 for Tuesday at Holly Point, 4 miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

He noted, “Not too bad results here. The water is still clear, we received 3/4 inch of rain Sunday.”

Maybe the contamination just hadn’t gotten that far yet.

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS testers Suzy Hall and John S. Quarterman reviewed the WWALS results. Such review is part of the WWALS standard ongoing testing quality analysis.

If you want to get trained by WWALS 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/

LPBR

US41

Testing location, 2026:02:16 15:31:20, –jsq for WWALS, 30.8931892, -83.3185716

HCSAR

WG

HP

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-02-17 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

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