Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe you’d like to join us for Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11.

https://wwals.net/?p=70660

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

Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.

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 River 2026-07-06, Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09 –WWALS Composite Spreadsheet of Water Quality Results
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.

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester Suzy Hall sampled Wednesday at the Watergoat on Sugar Creek, downstream from Gornto Road, below the bottom of the Salty Snapper parking lot. She got 233 cfu/100 mL E. coli, which is a good result.

Turtle, Sugar Creek @ WaterGoat 2026-07-08 –Suzy Hall for WWALS

Withlacoochee River

For Monday, July 6, 2026, Valdosta Utilities got a pretty clean 130 cfu/100 mL at the GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) bridge over the Withlacoochee River. That’s downstream from Sugar Creek.

They got a clean 60 at US 84. That’s downstream from the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River.

Table: GA 133, US 84, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06 –Valdosta Utilities

Santa Fe River

Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler sampled Thursday at Mills Dock, somewhat upstream from Poe Springs on the Santa Fe River.

They got 0 cfu/100 mL
Air temp. – 29.9
water temp – 29.7

They remarked, “River very low, very little current. Poe Springs is barely flowing.”

Mills Dock, Santa Fe River @ NW 282nd Dr 2026-07-09 –Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler for WWALS

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS tester John S. Quarterman reviewed the WWALS results. Such review is part of the WWALS standard ongoing testing quality analysis.

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman did annual retrainings and followup trainings for new testers.

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, Don Hutchinson, 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/