Update 2024-11-11: Roads closed after Valdosta flash flood 2024-11-10..

Apparently it’s washing downstream. WWALS tester Russ Tatum got much better E. coli results for Saturday for Holly Point on the Withlacoochee River, near the Suwannee River.

Still best to avoid the Withlacoochee River for a few more days at least. Also, the Withlacoochee and the Alapaha are in Action Stage, so too high anyway.

Better luck with the Suwannee or Santa Fe Rivers, or the Ichetucknee if any park entrances are open there.

Remember, many parks and put-ins remain closed after Hurricane Helene. So check before you go.

Or join us Saturday for the Walking Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup after Hurricane Helene, Troupville Boat Ramp 2024-11-16. Which may involve boating if the river level doesn’t go back down by then.

Cleaner downstream Withlacoochee River 2024-11-09 After Valdosta flash flood

Unlike his result for Friday of 1,033, Russ Tatum’s result for Saturday at Holly Point was 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 / 3 = 3.3 * 100 = 333.3 cfu/100mL.

Plates, Holly Point, Withlacoochee River 2024-11-09

He wrote, “The River has come up slightly but still looks bad. Results have decreased.”

WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall also read his plates and confirmed his results.

Chart: Cleaner Withlacoochee River 2024-11-09
For context, see: https://wwals.net/issues/testing

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.

We may get more numbers from Valdosta when they start posting their required test results after a major spill.

This contamination and flooding was largely caused by the foot of rain on Valdosta from the fringe of Hurricane Rafael.

That massive amount of rain water still has the Withlacoochee River in Action Stage, and the Alapaha River at Statenville and Jennings in Action Stage.

Map: NOAA River Gauges 2024-11-11 in the National Water Prediction Service.

Water quality testing training and funding

If you want to get trained 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.

 -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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