The Withlacoochee River tested clean this week.

Nobody tested Sugar Creek, but I’d avoid it until somebody gets clean results.

Nobody tested Cat Creek or Beatty Branch, either, but I can attest that Cat Creek smelled like sewage last Saturday.

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

There’s a strong chance of storms through Sunday, but mostly in the afternoon.

Rains lately have been spotty here and there, and any rain could wash contamination into waterways. We can only report test results we know.

So if you can get in and out before the rains, happy swimming, fishing, paddling, and boating this weekend.

Clean Withlacoochee River, Storms through Sunday, Happy paddling, 2025-08-21

Or join us at 8:30 AM tomorrow (Saturday) for Black Moon Morning Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-08-23.
https://wwals.net/?p=68213

Withlacoochee River

WWALS tester Cindy Vedas sampled Thursday at Staten Road on the Withlacoochee River and got good results: zero (0) E. coli.

Valdosta Utilities for Wednesday got 200 at GA 133 and 240 at US 84, both lower than the 410 one-time test limit, so those are good.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee River in Florida at Holly Point, not far up from the Suwannee River, WWALS tester Russ Tatum for Wednesday got zero (0) cfu/100 mL.

He remarked, “Clean Withlacoochee down here! The river has come a little bit, silted up some but clean.”

Chart: Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-08-21
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.

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS testers Cindy Vedas, Kim Tanner, and John S. Quarterman reviewed the results. Such review is part of WWALS quality control.

WWALS water quality testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman sent test results to Georgia Adopt-A-Stream for her recent training in Jasper, Florida.

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.

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/

staten

Staten Road, Withlacoochee River @ Staten Road 2025-08-21 –Cindy Vedas for WWALS

GA133

Table: GA 133, US 84, Withlacoochee River, 2025-08-20 –Valdosta Utilities

HP

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2025-08-21 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

 -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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