Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19

The Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers tested clean this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia, but there was an update on the August 5 Tifton spill.

So 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.

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, No new sewage spills, Happy paddling 2026-08-19

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 and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19 –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.

Little River

The August 5 Tifton W. Golden Road spill finally got an amount today, August 21: 5,700 gallons.

Table: Tifton W Golden Road Spill 5,700 Gallons 2026-08-05, reported 2026-08-21 –GA EPD

As previously noted, that is uphill from what we call Willow Creek, which flows through Tanzer Creek into the Little River just downstream from US 319.

Withlacoochee River

For Monday, August 17, 2026, Valdosta Utilities got a pretty clean 165 cfu/100 mL at the GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) bridge over the Withlacoochee River, cleaner than last week. That’s downstream from Sugar Creek.

They got 65 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 2026-08-17 –Valdosta Utilities

WWALS tester Russ Tatum sampled Wednesday, August 19, at Holly Point, downstream from Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River, about four miles upstream from the Suwannee River, and got a cleanest 0 (zero) cfu/100 mL, cleaner than last week.

He noted, “Nice and clean! The water has gone down some, a little tannic and still a little silty.”

Holly Point, Withlacoochee River @ NE Withla Bluffs Way 2026-08-19 –Russ Tatum for WWALS

Santa Fe River

WWALS testers Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler sampled Wednesday at Mills Dock, a bit upstream from Poe Springs on the Santa Fe River.

They got a cleanest 0 cfu/100 mL.
Air temp 24.7 c
Water Temp 29.5 c

They remarked, “1700 hrs FWC airboat sprayed hyacinth mats from 27 Bridge Ending at a large mat just below sample site. Poe Springs flow is essentially zero and remains closed for swimming.

Mills Dock, Santa Fe River @ NW 282nd Dr 2026-08-19 –Bob Mills and Kurt Hurzeler 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.

If you want to get trained byh 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, 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/