Clean Ichetucknee, Santa Fe, Withlacoochee Rivers 2026-01-14

WWALS testers found the Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee Rivers clean for this Wednesday.

We have no new creek results and no results this week from Valdosta Utilities.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in Georgia or Florida.

The weather is supposed to be sunny Saturday, but colder and rainy Sunday. If you can find a river with enough water and you don’t mind cole, happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing.

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

Clean Ichetucknee, Santa Fe, and Withlacoochee Rivers; No Valdosta Utilities results, 2026-01-14

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: Clean Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, Santa Fe Rivers 2026-01-14
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.

Withlacoochee River

WWALS tester Russ Tatum got a perfect result of zero (0) cfu/100 mL for Holly Point, only a few miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

He noted, “Clean down here. Looking a little algaefide with the warm temps last week and sloooow flow.”

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-01-14 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

Santa Fe River

WWALS testers Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler also got a perfect 0 cfu/100 mL at Mills Dock, a bit upstream from Poe Spring.

Also:
Air Temp 13.8 C
Water Temp 19.3 C

Mills Dock, Santa Fe River @ NW 282nd Dr 2026-01-14 –Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler for WWALS

Ichetucknee River

WWALS tester Christiaan Ard got higher E. coli results downstream than upstream on the Ichetucknee River.

For both locations, he noted, “Water level slightly lower, otherwise the same. SAV looking better.”

SAV is Submerged Aquatic Vegetation.

At Hodor Park he got zero (0).

Also:
Air Temp 14 C
Water Temp 20 C
pH 8
DO 5.4
Conductivity 360

Hodor Park, Ichetucknee River @ SW Riverside Ave. 2026-01-14 –Christiaan Ard for WWALS

At Point Park, just upstream from the Santa Fe River, he got a pretty clean 100 cfu/100 mL.

Also:
Air Temp 15 C
Water Temp 20 C
pH 8.0
DO 5.8 6.0
Conductivity 333

Point Park, Ichetucknee River @ SW Riverside Ave. 2026-01-14 –Christiaan Ard for WWALS

Water quality testing training and funding

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

If you want to get trained by WWALS water quality testing 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/

Plates, Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-01-14 –Russ Tatum for WWALS