Update 2024-08-02: Three more Ashburn sewage spills reported more than a week late 2024-07-20.

Update 2024-07-26: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-07-25.

Thanks to the reporter for doing this story, especially for including the material about the stigma of sewage spills, which affects even Suwannee Basin rivers that are not even downstream from Valdosta, and about the economic damage of such stigma.

Please note that while Valdosta is the biggest sewage spill problem, because it is the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, it is far from the only city that spills sewage, and not all E. coli contamination comes from sewage; see other sources.

As noted in the story, Valdosta is spending millions of dollars to fix its sewage problems. Nobody will be happier when there are no more sewage spills than Valdosta staff and elected officials, many of whom are new since most of the notorious sewage spills happened. But that day is still some time in the future.

Downstream dozen Florida counties task force reactivated after raw sewage spills across Georgia state line –WUFT 2024-07-23

I’ve noted a few errata below, plus I’ve added some links and some more images.

Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp, WUFT, July 23, 2024, North Central Florida river task force reactivated following raw sewage spills across Georgia state lines,

The Sante[Santa] Fe River was familiar with Joanne Tremblay, with their morning routine, lying still as she waded calf-deep to collect a sample of its water.

It was a warm shade of tangerine.

It’s the Santa Fe River.

Many people seem amused by to hear blackwater river water called tangerine, and that’s a new one on me. Tea-colored is more usual, or sand-colored. Whatever.

Back to the story.

She knew children would play on the riverbank come midday, bright and alive like the blue E. coli colonies that thrived on her water quality test plates.

“The place where I just recorded very high [E. coli] levels, I know for a fact that children play there,” Tremblay said. “They swim there.”

Joanne was referring to Wanamake Ramp near the mouth of the Santa Fe River, just before the Suwannee River.

Easier to see on a map is one of her other test sites, somewhat upstream, Hollingsworth Ramp.

Map: Hollingsworth Ramp, Santa Fe River in Florida,
in the WWALS map of all public landings in the Suwannee River Basin.

Back to the story.

Following an April 12 raw sewage spill originating in Valdosta, Georgia, the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council greenlit the reactivation of a dormant Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force May 23. The mobilization effort, comprised of 12 Florida county commissioners, aims to collaborate with Georgia state and local authorities to improve wastewater infrastructure and reduce river contaminants.

NFRPC in Gainesville, Thursday, May 23, 2024, Middle and Lower Suwannnee & Withlacoochee River Task Force Reactivation

North Central Florida Regional Planning Council Executive Director Scott Koons said the task force was originally created in 2018, later entering a period of dormancy from 2020 to 2024 due to a decrease in incidents correlated with the installation of a Valdosta wastewater catch basin. However, heavy rain in the days leading to April 12 unleashed 6.7 million gallons of liquid from the basin — including about 1.3 million gallons of raw sewage — sending an onslaught of E. coli across state lines and through Florida’s network of interconnected waterways.

Scott R. Koons, Executive Director, North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, in
WWALS videos of Florida Counties meet Valdosta about sewage in rivers and wells, 10 April 2019

“Valdosta … had a history and a number of major sewage spills into the Withlacoochee River, which then flows south into the Suwannee River, which flows through the heart of our region,” Koons said.

Map: Valdosta Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant by the Withlacoochee River in Georgia

Please note that the Santa Fe River is not downstream from Valdosta. The Santa Fe, like the Withlacoochee, flows into the Suwannee River.

Yet the Santa Fe River, and counties next to it and counties next to the Suwannee River upstream from the Withlacoochee, are still affected by the stigma of sewage spills; see below.

Back to the story.

Graph: Santa Fe River E. coli

That graph has a marker “Valdosta, Georgia sewage spill April 12”. Which is confusing, because the Santa Fe River is not downstream from Valdosta. The Santa Fe, like the Withlacoochee River, flows into the Suwannee River.

Back to the story.

Plates, Santa Fe River, 2024-07-10
Tremblay points to blue E. coli colony clusters that formed following tests on Santa Fe River water samples. (Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp/WUFT News)

The promise of rivers teeming with wildlife and a cold swim in crystal-clear springs draws what Levy County Commissioner and task force Chair John Meeks described as the basis of Florida’s economy: tourism. While frequent sewage spills cause environmental damage, he said they also strike a chord financially.

John Meeks, Chair, Middle and Lower Suwannee and Withlacoochee River Task Force
Photo: John Meeks facebook page

“Whenever there’s a report out there that there’s the potential for sewage in a body of water, it makes people not want to get in the water,” Meeks said. “You have less visitors. It’s less people spending money in your community. That’s less tax dollars, less business.”

As water quality testing continued to reveal a spike in bacterial E. coli concentrations, Meeks said the Suwannee River was branded with a “dirty” stigma, engineering a “nightmare” for those who depend on it for economic and environmental stability.

The river task force, engaged in Tallahassee lobbying, will carry its efforts north to Valdosta in collaboration with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Georgia Environmental Protection Division along with Georgia local and state legislative authority to strengthen wastewater treatment infrastructure in light of the most recent raw sewage spill, Meeks said.

“It’s bad for wildlife, it’s bad for plants and it’s bad for people who are swimming in the water,” he said. “One gallon of sewage in the Suwannee River is one gallon too many.”

The Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force’s reactivation will help Valdosta further “focus their attention,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Valdosta has made significant strides to address the situation, which he said included the appointment of a new city manager and utilities director. The additional approval of a city budget allocating $67 million toward preventative pipeline repairs and other sewage issues is a step in the right direction, but he said there’s still more work to be done.

Valdosta VY 2025 Budget with $67 million bond for water and sewer projects

Through WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., he engages in advocacy for the entirety of the Suwannee River Basin, including the Georgia and Florida interconnected stretch of the Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers. The nonprofit was formed in 2012 in response to Valdosta sewage and pollution.

And in response to sewage spills from other sources, and other problems such as deadfalls in creeks causing bridges to be closed.

Back to the story.

Though the less frequent spills have been thoroughly monitored by authorities and communticated to downstream communities, Quarterman said there’s a remaining threat of contaminated water seeping through the Suwannee River Basin’s sandy soil and porous limestone foundation into community wells on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Coming into contact with or ingesting water high in bacterial E. coli from raw sewage can cause severe illness, posing a heightened risk for vulnerable individuals, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“This problem needs to be fixed,” he said. “What can you do in the short term? Stay away from the river. Keep testing until you determine it’s clean.”

Conductivity, Santa Fe River
Above: Tremblay measures the Santa Fe River’s electrical conductivity based on the presence of sediment detected by a conductivity meter

Whirl-Pak
and separates a sample for an E. coli concentration test. (Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp/WUFT News)

WWALS volunteer water quality testers aim to monitor weekly readings scattered across North Central Florida. While the bacterial E. coli alert limit is 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters, Quarterman said results closely following sewage spills or exposure to other contaminants have reached the tens of thousands.

Our Santa Fe River President Joanne Tremblay collects a sample from the Santa Fe River for a panel of water quality tests. (Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp/WUFT News)

Tremblay waded calf-deep into the Sante Fe River and tossed a bucket, pulling it back toward her through the water with a string. In partnership with WWALS, she serves as president of Our Santa Fe River, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting the river through clean-ups and advocacy.

Please note that OSFR is an independent entity that predates WWALS. WWALS and OSFR have and do often work together on projects ranging from opposing a pipeline to opposing titanium dioxide mines to water quality sampling.

The water she collected would later undergo a panel of tests, including analyses of temperature, pH levels, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and E. coli uploaded to a publicly accessible WWALS database.

“We want to be able to nip any kind of problematic E. coli in the bud,” Tremblay said.

Indeed we do.

Actually, all the tests are conducted at the sample location, except the E. coli, which requires plating the sample on PetriFilms and then incubating it at 95 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours before reading those plates.

Other Sources

Regarding “thoroughly monitored by authorities,” the reason that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) posts its Sewage Spills Report every business day is that WWALS conducted a campaign to get them to do so, signing up organizations throughout Georgia and Florida to request it, including Our Santa Fe River. When the number of organizations reached 30, the GA-EPD Director said it was a good idea and they started doing it.

However, many cities such as Quitman and Ashburn usually report spills a week or more after they happen, which makes water quality sampling very difficult. And we keep hearing reports of spills that were not reported. If you see or hear or smell such a spill, please let us know so we can go see.

Ashburn, Georgia, spilled almost 2 million gallons of raw sewage in the past twelve months, the vast majority into Hat Creek above the Alapaha River.

Quitman, Georgia, received a Notice of Violation for 9 effluent violations, 5 sewage spills, 11 monitoring violations, 1 reporting violation.

Rochelle, Tifton, Adel, and even Homerville, Georgia have spilled sewage.

High Springs and Starke, Florida, have spilled.

See water quality testing results.

And it isn’t always sewage. Cattle and hogs also cause E. coli contamination. I did discuss that with the reporter before I sent her to Joanne to get pictures without having to travel far from Gainesville. Presumably the reporter did not mention other sources due to article length.

When there are big rains after a drought, a phenomenon called “first flush” occurs. Wildlife, livestock, and domestic pets that have been using the woods and fields as a latrine suddenly get much of that flushed into waterways.

It can take DNA marker testing to tell what kind of source is causing contamination, and much further testing to pinpoint it. Using DNA marker and chemical tracer test results from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and E. coli test results from FDEP, the Florida Department of Health, Lowndes County, Georgia, and Valdosta, as well as WWALS, we have successfully found some sources and their owners have done much to solve their problem.

More remain to be found and fixed, such as sources as yet unknown upstream from Valdosta.

Chart: Bad creeks, OK rivers 2022-10-27
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

There are probably upstream sources on the Santa Fe River, which may include titanium dioxide mines.

If you would like to be trained to join our ongoing volunteer water quality testing program, please fill out the form.
https://forms.gle/WfNQEnoiv7LDBAsd8

WWALS Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman has scheduled trainings coming up soon in Florida and Georgia.

If you or your organization would like to help sponsor WWALS water quality testing, please donate.
https://wwals.net/donations/

We thank Georgia Power for providing water quality testing grants for several years now, but we need to expand our water quality testing and diversify our funding sources.

And of course thanks to all the volunteer water quality testers.

 -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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