Author Archives: jsq

Winners, WWALS Boomerang paddle race 2022-10-22

Hahira, GA, October 25, 2022 — Home county favorite Kyle “Bird” Chamberlain, of Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, won the WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia into Florida and back. He won the $100 First Prize with a time of one hour, sixteen minutes, and 55 seconds to paddle three miles down and three miles back up for six miles total on the astonishingly clear Withlacoochee River.

[River, Race, Prizes: WWALS Boomerang 2022-10-22]
River, Race, Prizes: WWALS Boomerang 2022-10-22

Bird said, “I wanna thank my sponsors State Line River Outfitters and Takis for believing in me… they gave me their undivided attention to make sure I had everything needed to win.” Continue reading →

WWALS at Alapaha Station Celebration 2022-11-12

Update 2023-10-29: Pictures.

Join us at the historic railroad station in Alapaha, Georgia, near Sheboggy Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, the most upstream public landing on the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail.

The Alapaha Station Celebration theme this year is “Alapaha Strong! On November 12 the celebration will deliver a parade and free entertainment.” Plus food vendors.

When: 9 AM, Saturday, November 12, 2022

Put In: Alapaha Station, 245 NE Railroad Street, Alapaha, Georgia 31622

GPS: 31.38103, -83.222412

[2019 Alapaha Station Celebration]
2019 Alapaha Station Celebration

Continue reading →

Pictures: Lee St. Detention Pond Cleanup 2022-10-21

Those of us who came to the Friday morning trash reporting cleanup at Valdosta’s Lee St. Detention POnd got some bags of trash and reported a couple of Click ‘n’ Fixes.

Y’all come this afternoon, 2PM, Sunday, October 23, 2022, for another Click ‘n’ Fix reporting and cleanup, led by Bobby McKenzie. Park at Mr. B’s IGA, 1405 N Lee St., Valdosta, GA 31601. We’ll forage for trash from there.

[Trash, trash trap, banners]
Trash, trash trap, banners

The goal is to stop the trash before it gets into One Mile Branch, whic flows into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River. Valdosta can do what its Stormwater Permit requires and educate businesses to keep trash from escaping their parking lots. Or it can enforce Valdosta’s trash ordinances. The more people reporting such violations, the more likely something will be done.

Thanks to Mr. B for keeping the parking lot at Mr. B’s IGA pretty clean. There is room for improvement, in putting trash cans in the parking lot. He said he would consider it.

It turns out the strip of land with the drainage ditch just south of Mr. B’s IGA is Continue reading →

Clean water quality, Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Rivers 2022-10-20

Update 2022-10-28: Bad Beatty Branch and Cat Creek, good downstream Withlacoochee River 2022-10-27.

All the WWALS water quality results for this Thursday were pretty clean. We have nothing new on GA 133 since Valdosta’s Monday results there were bad. My guess is whatever that was has probably washed away by now, but we don’t know.

So I’d say probably OK for swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend.

Come on down to the State Line Boat Ramp for the WWALS Boomerang paddle race, from Georgia into Florida and back!
https://wwals.net/pictures/boomerang2022

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

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

The only bad spot is that Monday GA 133 result in the Valdosta data. That upstream incident that started last week. It may have been caused by upstream rain on Thursday, October 12, 2022. What it washed into the Withlacoochee River is a mystery that we are working on resolving. Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee Riverkeeper on WWALS Boomerang on Scott James Radio 2022-10-18

On the Scott James radio show Tuesday, he and Suwannee Riverkeeper talked about the WWALS Boomerang paddle race, coming up tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 22, 2022, at State Line Boat Ramp.

https://wwals.net/pictures/boomerang2022


[Movie: WWALS Boomerang paddle race, State Line Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-10-22]
Movie: WWALS Boomerang paddle race, State Line Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-10-22

Follow this link https://youtu.be/CIoEFysSwM0 for that video. Continue reading →

Tifton: Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2022-11-02

The Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council (SSRWPC) is gathering information on river conditions, such as water level too high or too low to paddle, and fish habitat information. So if you are an outfitter or other knowledgeable person, you may want to attend, in person or via telephone or teams. Dr. Wei Zeng has already done this for some other RWPCs, and now he is doing it for SSRWPC.

When: Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 9:45 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.

Where: Georgia Museum of Agriculture, Conference Room East, 1392 Whiddon Mill Road, Tifton, GA 31793

[Picture, Map, Public Notice]
Picture, Map, Public Notice

Georgia’s Regional Water Planning Councils They plan, projecting water use, water levels, groundwater, wastewater, population growth or decrease, etc. County Comprehensive Plans typically then include those plans by reference. Unlike Florida’s Water Management Districts, Georgia’s RWPCs have no staff, almost no funding, and no ability to tax nor issue permits. Continue reading →

Pictures: Alapaha Station Celebration 2019-11-09

2019 was the last year the Alapaha Station Celebration was held, and WWALS was there for the sixth year running.

[WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman, Berrien County photographer Wenda Gaile Bailey, WWALS booth]
WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman, Berrien County photographer Wenda Gaile Bailey, WWALS booth

Yes, it’s back this year, at the historic railroad station in Alapaha, Georgia, near Sheboggy Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, the most upstream public landing on the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail. We will be back there. Stay tuned. WWALS at Alapaha Station Celebration 2022-11-12. Continue reading →

Forever chemicals contaminate Withlacoochee River in Georgia and Florida 2022-10-18

Update 2022-12-24: PFAS contamination may be much more widespread than previously known 2022-10-12.

Hahira, GA, October 18, 2022 — A first-of-its kind study by Waterkeeper Alliance found 83% of the waters tested across the country, and 100% of tested waterways in Georgia and Florida, were contaminated by dangerous PFAS chemicals.

“The PFAS levels we found in the Withlacoochee River were lower than most sites in the U.S., but there should not have been any,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “WWALS is working on ways to do more tests to narrow down likely sources and to see how rain events affect the results.”

[Figure 11: bigger circles indicate more contamination]
Figure 11: bigger circles indicate more contamination

The good news: PFAS levels in four test sites on the Withlacoochee River were among the lowest in the study. Still, there are currently no universal, science-based limits on the various PFAS chemicals and their presence is cause for further investigation. For many PFAS chemicals, the EPA has not set a health advisory limit that would give the public a baseline to determine what amount of PFAS is unhealthy in drinking water. In most cases, the EPA is not doing adequate monitoring for these chemicals, which is why these findings are so relevant and important.

The bad news: Continue reading →

Sunday Trash reporting cleanup, One Mile Branch, Valdosta’s Lee Street detention pond, 2022-10-23

Second chance to learn Click ‘n’ Fix reporting and seeclickfix.com followup at multiple locations in Valdosta. Come to Valdosta’s Lee Street Detention Pond at 2 PM this Sunday, October 23, 2022. Pick up trash and get a Rivers Alive t-shirt!

More people involved will improve public health, quality of life, and eco-tourism, while providing community involvement.

We invite all Valdosta City officials, especially Stormwater Division and Public Works, to come instruct us in how it should be done.

We will start at Valdosta’s Lee Street detention pond (highlighted in the map), where the city recently installed a trash trap it made and later added a net. Since Valdosta from time to time cleans that pond out, there should not be much trash in there.

So we will forage farther afield. In addition to trash, we’re looking for trash cans in parking lots: if they’re not there, they should be according to Valdosta’s own ordinances, so you can report them missing.

[Trash trap, map, Lee St. Detention Pond, Valdosta, GA]
Trash trap, map, Lee St. Detention Pond, Valdosta, GA

Continue reading →

WWALS Boomerang paddle race on Scott James radio 2022-10-18

Suwannee Riverkeeper will talk about the WWALS Boomerang paddle race on Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio tomorrow morning, Tuesday, 8:30 AM.

Read all about this race from Georgia into Florida and back again on the Withlacoochee River:
wwals.net/pictures/boomerang2022/

[WWALS Boomerang paddle race, Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio]
WWALS Boomerang paddle race, Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio

Continue reading →