Monthly Archives: February 2026

Sen. Carden Summers tries to amend to weaken GA SB 34 that would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills @ GA Sen. Comm. on Regulated Industries and Utilities 2026-02-12

2 Replies

Update 2026-02-17: Datacenter water use and Irwin County Planning Commission and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16.

Georgia state Senator Carden Summers, who represents Irwinville, tried last Thursday to “gut” SB 34, which would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills. That’s a bill he co-sponsors.

Sen. Summers represents Irwinville, where a datacenter is planned, with a special exception request to be heard at an Irwin County Planning Commission in Ocilla next Thursday, February 26, 2026.

[Sen. Carden Summers tries 2026-02-12, to amend to weaken GA SB 34, that would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills]
Sen. Carden Summers tries 2026-02-12, to amend to weaken GA SB 34, that would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills.

He tried a similar amendment a year ago in the same committee, and could not get a second for his motion, according to Dave Williams, Capitol Beat, February 25, 2025. The committee favorably reported SB 34 on February 26, 2025, and apparently its text remains unchanged since then.

Maybe you’d like to ask Sen. Carden Summers why he is a co-sponsor of SB 34 if he doesn’t like what it says?

https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/senate/4971?session=1033
(404) 463-5258
carden.summers@senate.ga.gov

He represents Berrien, Tift, Worth, Crisp, Turner, Ben Hill, Irwin, and west half of Coffee Counties.

If he’s not your state Senator, feel free to contact yours:

https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-senate/

This is the Senate video of the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities on February 12, 2026, about SB 34.

Continue reading →

So-called AI hallucinates no matter how good its training data –OpenAI 2025-09-18

1 Reply

Update 2026-02-17: Sen. Carden Summers tries to amend to weaken GA SB 34 that would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills @ GA Sen. Comm. on Regulated Industries and Utilities 2026-02-12.

This is according to research by the creator of ChatGPT, the bot that started the “AI”boom.

Is this what we want in datacenters sucking up our water?

If not, see a previous post for some bills in the Georgia legislature.

https://wwals.net/?p=69394

[So-called AI hallucinates, no matter how good its training data --OpenAI 2025-09-18]
So-called AI hallucinates, no matter how good its training data –OpenAI 2025-09-18

Gyana Swain, Computerworld, September 18, 2025, OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws,

In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, acknowledged in its own research that large language models will always produce hallucinations due to fundamental mathematical constraints that cannot be solved through better engineering, marking a significant admission from one of the AI industry’s leading companies.

The study, published on September 4 and led by OpenAI researchers Adam Tauman Kalai, Edwin Zhang, and Ofir Nachum alongside Georgia Tech’s Santosh S. Vempala, provided a comprehensive mathematical framework explaining why AI systems must generate plausible but false information even when trained on perfect data.

“Like students facing hard exam questions, large language models sometimes guess when uncertain, producing plausible yet incorrect statements instead of admitting uncertainty,” the researchers wrote in the paper. “Such ‘hallucinations’ persist even in state-of-the-art systems and undermine trust.”

The admission carried particular weight given OpenAI’s position as the creator of ChatGPT, which sparked the current AI boom and convinced millions of users and enterprises to adopt generative AI technology.

Continue reading →

Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to RR Bridge 2026-02-14

2 Replies

We went only 0.28 Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River miles, but we sawed plenty of passage through deadfalls, moved much debris, and picked up a bunch of trash.

Here are some video clips:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2360050534421356/

https://youtu.be/XsmSiemHLug

We were chainsawing passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats through hurricane deadfalls, especially from Hurricane Helene.

Phil Hubbard, leader of this expedition, remarked: “I felt we had a very productive day. With the low water we were able to clear obstructions that had existed but inaccessible for a very long time.”

[Chainsaw Cleanup, Sugar Creek to Withlacoochee River, Short distance but much accomplished]
Chainsaw Cleanup, Sugar Creek to Withlacoochee River, Short distance but much accomplished

We are preparing for the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper, which is currently scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, if the river level rises enough to avoid rescheduling.

We took a WWALS canoe with the 24-inch Husqvarna Rancher chainsaw and the 86 lb thrust trolling motor paid for by a grant from Wild Green Future, plus other saws, electric and gas. Phil Hubbard and I used the canoe. David Savage and Tish Hall each brought their own kayak. We spent more time walking than paddling.

Phil Hubbard recently Continue reading →

Board Packet online –GA-DNR 2026-02-24

Leave a reply

Thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) for putting their board packet online!

https://gadnr.org/board

Maybe they got tired of me nagging them last month until they sent the packet so WWALS could post it.

https://wwals.net/?p=69309

Still not back on the agenda after they took it off last time, is the Suwannee River Visitor Center.

[Board Packet online, --GA-DNR 2026-01-24, Congratulations, Moultrie, Eastside Trail in RTP]
Board Packet online, –GA-DNR 2026-01-24, Congratulations, Moultrie, Eastside Trail in RTP

If Moultrie’s Eastside Trail is in the watershed of Okalpilco Creek, that’s in the Suwannee River Basin. Congratulations, Moultrie, for being invited to submit a full proposal for your $200,000 project in the Recreational Trails Program (RTP).

I see nothing else about the Suwannee River Basin in this month’s board packet.

Follow the link above for the rest of the packet for the GA-DNR Board of Natural Resources meeting, Monday, February 24, 2026, at 9 AM, in the DNR Board Room, Atlanta, GA is 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE Suite 1252 East, Atlanta, GA 30334.

Or you can watch live by zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87666619346?pwd=YdFlljH7EofQOa3aFs2beaPiyxtXfw.1

Meeting ID: 876 6661 9346

Passcode: 304473

Continue reading →

Datacenter proposed, Irwinville, near Alapaha River 2026-02-26

4 Replies

Update 2026-02-17: Datacenter water use and Irwin County Planning Commission and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16.

Update 2026-02-17: Sen. Carden Summers tries to amend to weaken GA SB 34 that would require datacenters to pay their own electric bills @ GA Sen. Comm. on Regulated Industries and Utilities 2026-02-12.

Update 2026-02-16: So-called AI hallucinates no matter how good its training data –OpenAI 2025-09-18.

Apparently the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, February 26, at 6 PM, has been moved to the Courthouse. If so, that indicates much interest in this case.

I’m told this datacenter would be for Google, but it doesn’t really matter which big company wants it.

[Datacenter proposed, Irwinville, GA, near Alapaha River, Planning Commission 2026-02-26]
Datacenter proposed, Irwinville, GA, near Alapaha River, Planning Commission 2026-02-26

Datacenters for so-called AI are wasteful misuses of water that could go to agriculture and other uses, and of power that requires more power plants that use more cooling water.

The current alleged artificial intelligence (AI) and especially the current brute-force methods of implementing it will be leapfrogged by something else within a few years, just like expensive computer workstations got leapfrogged by Intel PCs and now everybody has something faster and more capable in their pocket.

https://wwals.net/?p=69238

Why waste our most irreplaceable resource, water, for this? Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers; Dirty New River upstream 2026-02-12

1 Reply

Update 2026-02-18: Filthy Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek 2026-02-17.

WWALS got good river results on the Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers this week, as did Valdosta Utilities on the Withlacoochee.

But new WWALS tester Isis Swartz got too-high E. coli results on the New River at 18th Street in Tifton, Georgia.

We have no new creek test results.

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

The weather prediction for Saturday is mostly sunny with rain on Sunday. So if you can find a river with enough water, happy paddling, boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

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

[Clean Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers; Dirty New River upstream, 2026-02-09-12]
Clean Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers; Dirty New River upstream, 2026-02-09-12

Or come with WWALS tomorrow (Saturday), on the Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to Troupville 2026-02-14.

https://wwals.net/?p=69369

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 →

Video: Jacksonville Wastewater into Suwannee Basin, WWALS Webinar 2026-02-12

4 Replies

Update 2026-02-17: Consent Order on JEA Buckman Wastewater Treatment Plant –FDEP 2025-09-15.

Thanks to all who participated, this webinar turned into a 45-minute online town hall, after the the two-minute introduction by WWALS Treasurer Sara Squires Jones and the 32-minute slide presentation by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Many questions were asked about s the plan by the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to pipe output from the JEA Buckman wastewater treatment plant into wetlands in the Suwannee River Basin, to recharge springs and rivers.

We now know much more about why JEA wants to do this, especially thanks to Joe Squitieri, Rick Lanese, and Hailey Hall.

Here is the zoom video:
https://youtu.be/Df3dJzq2_7Y

[Video: Jacksonville Wastewater into Suwannee Basin, WWALS Webinar, online by zoom 2026-02-12]
Video: Jacksonville Wastewater into Suwannee Basin, WWALS Webinar, online by zoom 2026-02-12

The slides are on the WWALS website in PDF and PowerPoint. The slides are slightly updated to clean up a few glitches and especially to add four slides about what JEA gets out of this project.

Images of each slide are below.

Notes on the Q&A are at the end of this post, and you can see and hear for yourself in the video.

Please remember to Ask for explanations or to stop the projects.

Members of Congress & Statehouse
http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

SRWMD and SJRWMD Board
https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/134/Current-Board-Members
https://www.sjrwmd.com/about/organization/directors/

County Commissioners and City Councils
https://www.fl-counties.com/2025-fac-directory/

Florida Counties Task Force about wastewater
https://wwals.net/?p=68081

Follow the QR code or the link below for a change.org petition you can sign. Continue reading →

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge –USFWS 1948-01-01

Leave a reply

Perhaps the most unusual feature of this historical writeup is this claim:

“In a sense OKEFENOKEE IS NOT A SWAMP AT ALL, but a saucer-shaped depression fed to a great extent by clear, bubbling springs in the prairies.”

Can somebody point out these mythical springs within the Swamp?

[Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Conservation in Action, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 1945]
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Conservation in Action, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 1945

Thanks to Chapin Burgess for sending this document. I don’t know where he got it. A copy is on the WWALS website. Images of each page are below.

Much of it is about alligators, birds, bears, and fishing.

Some swamp terminology was different in 1945. Floating bottom was called “floating isles”. Batteries were called “houses”, or that term is also equated to “hammock”.

The Refuge headquarters was called Camp Cornelia. Continue reading →

Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to Troupville 2026-02-14

2 Replies

Update 2026-02-16: Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to Troupville 2026-02-14.

Join us as we chainsaw passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats through hurricane deadfalls.

You do not have to use a saw: you can pull sawed limbs aside, collect trash, photograph, or just paddle along.

The river is very low. This is convenient for sawing through dead trees while standing on the river bottom. But beware there will be much dragging of boats.

We are preparing for the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper, which is currently scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, if the river level rises enough to avoid rescheduling.

When: Gather 11 AM, launch 12 PM, end 5 PM, Saturday, February 14, 2026

Put In: Gather at the bottom of the Salty Snapper parking lot, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602-2232.
We’ll put in on Sugar Creek if there’s enough water,
otherwise on the Withlacoochee River under the railroad trestle.

GPS: 30.861251, -83.318900

[Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to Troupville, 9 AM, Saturday, February 14, 2026]
Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek to Troupville, 9 AM, Saturday, February 14, 2026

Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-02-04

2 Replies

Update 2026-02-13: Clean Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers; Dirty New River upstream 2026-02-12.

WWALS got good river results on the Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers for Wednesday.

Valdosta Utilities also got good E. coli results for the Withlacoochee for Monday.

We have no new creek test results.

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

But there were two in Florida. The Florida Pollution Notices map is broken again, but WWALS is signed up for alerts so we got them by email. High Springs spilled Monday near the Santa Fe River, and Live Oak spilled Tuesday near the Suwannee River. Both were small spills and not very near any major waterway.

The weather prediction for Saturday and Sunday is warmer and sunny. So if you can find a river with enough water, happy paddling, boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

Or come with WWALS tomorrow (Saturday), to find the site of the old Drew Mansion, on Ellaville Hike, Withlacoochee River 2026-02-07.

https://wwals.net/?p=69082

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

[Clean Alapaha and Santa Fe, Rivers 2026-02-04, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-02-02]
Clean Alapaha and Santa Fe, Rivers 2026-02-04, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-02-02

Alapaha River

WWALS tester Heather Brasell got a pretty good 333 cfu/100 mL for the Town of Alapaha wastewater plant outflow creek, and 166 for the Alapaha River just upstream from Sheboggy Boat Ramp on US 82, both for Wednesday, February 4, 2026.

Santa Fe River

WWALS testers Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler for Wednesday at Mills Dock, a bit upstream from Poe Springs Ramp, bot a quite clean 66 cfu/100 mL, with 12.8 C air temperature and 16.3 C water temperature.

Withlacoochee River

Valdosta Utilities for Monday (we don’t know why not for Wednesday) got pretty good 320 at GA 133 and pretty clean 100 at US 84, both below the 410 one-time test limit.

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 →