The Alapaha River tested clean last Friday, but the Town of Alapaha Wastewater Treatment Outflow was filthy.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Monday and for Wednesday downstream.

The only sewage spill reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia, was a 25,000 gallon spill into Hat Creek on August 2, that Ashburn, Georgia didn’t report to GA-EPD until Monday, August 10. That’s upstream of the Alapaha River.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08, but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12

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 Rivers; Filthy Creeks 2026-08-12 –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.

Alapaha River

I had thought maybe Ashburn had gotten a grip, but it had another spill on August 2, of 25,000 gallons into Hat Creek, which runs into the Alapaha River. And Ashburn didn’t report that to GA-EPD until a week later.

Ashburn 25,000 gallon Sewage Spill into Hat Creek, Alapaha River 2026-08-02 –GA-EPD 2026 08 10

WWALS tester Heather Brasell sampled last Friday on the creek running out of the Town of Alapaha Wastewater Treatment Plant, and got too-high 733 cfu/100 mL.

Alapaha Settlement Pond Stream, Alapaha River @ US 82 2026-08-08 –Heather Brasell for WWALS

She sampled that same day on the Alapaha River downstream from that creek, and just upstream from Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82, and got a pretty clean 100 cfu/100 mL.

Sheboggy Boat Ramp, Alapaha River @ US 82 2026-08-08 –Heather Brasell for WWALS

Withlacoochee River

For Monday, August 10, 2026, Valdosta Utilities got a pretty clean 195 cfu/100 mL at the GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) bridge over the Withlacoochee River, same as last week. That’s downstream from Sugar Creek.

They got 75 at US 84, cleaner than last week. That’s downstream from the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River.

Table: GA 133 & US 84, Withlacoochee River 2026-08-10 –Valdosta Utilities

WWALS tester Russ Tatum sampled Wednesday, August 12, at Holly Point, downstream from Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River, about four miles upstream from the Suwannee River, and got a clean 33 cfu/100 mL, cleaner than last week.

He noted, “Still clean! The water has come up a little, gotten a little silty and tannic.”

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-08-12 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

Water quality testing training and funding

WWALS testers Suzy Hall and 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 gave annual retests to several 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/

AWWTP

Plates, Alapaha Settlement Pond Stream 2026-08-08 –Heather Brasell for WWALS

SBR

Plates, Sheboggy Boat Ramp 2026-08-08 –Heather Brasell for WWALS

HP

Plates, Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-08-12 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

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