Category Archives: Aquifer

The Floridan Aquifer is our main drinking water source under our entire WWALS watershed, east to south Carolina, west through Alabama to Mississippi, and under all of Florida.

Sabal Trail easements at SRWMD 2016-07-12 and SFWMD 2016-07-14

Tomorrow this morning (Thursday July 14th 2016) Sabal Trail is on the agenda of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) for permission to use conservation easements Sierra Club facebook event
for its fracked methane pipeline. How does this square with Sabal Trail’s assertions that it already has all the permits it needs? The irony of meeting for this in West Palm Beach, a stone’s throw from four already-approved LNG export operations at the end of the Sabal Trail pipeline chain in Martin County. How does profit for a pipeline company from Houston and LNG export to Asia square with the mission of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection? If you’re in the area, please write, call, or go, before or by 9AM tomorrow morning to oppose these easements and put a kink in Sabal Trail’s pipeline. Continue reading

Two new reasons for a SEIS: WWALS to USACE, GA-EPD, and FERC 2016-07-08

LiDar Filed Friday as FERC accession number 20160708-5096, http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?document_id=14476452, “Two new reasons for a USACE Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and a halt to Sabal Trail permits; see also accession numbers 20160708-5089 and 20160708-5088, by WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. under CP15-17.” (PDF) Continue reading

Sabal Trail library funding on Suwannee County Agenda 2016-07-05

Sabal Trail offers $60,000 to a library in Suwannee County, the only county through which every path ever proposed by Sabal Trail would pass. Suwannee County Route Map The same Florida county where another hydrogeology report says Sabal Trail’s 36-inch fracked methane pipeline drilling would risk springs, caverns, the Suwannee River, and everyone’s drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer.

If you think $60,000 or $60 million or $3 billion is not enough for that hazard to our water and property rights, you can come and say so.

When: 6PM Tuesday July 5th 2016

where: Judicial Annex
218 Parshley St. SW
Live Oak, FL 32064

Event: facebook

What: On the agenda for the Suwannee Board of County Commissioners: Continue reading

New hydrology report exposes Sabal Trail pipeline risk to Floridan Aquifer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jasper, Florida, July 1st 2016 — Another independent professional geologist reveals more omissions and discrepancies in pipeline company reports and faults in federal oversight of the Sabal Trail pipeline: Figure 7: Locations of the caves and springs mentioned in this study groundflow actually goes the other way, drilling under a river will change water flow in the Floridan Aquifer, and there is very high risk of sinkhole collapse. An indigenous Floridian commissioned this scientific report to protect his mother, the living earth. This geological report provides compelling additional reasons for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to open a new process to evaluate this and other new information.

Bobby C. Billie, one of the Clan Leaders and Spiritual Leader, Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal Peoples, asked professional geologist and hydrologist Peter Schreuder, P.G. to conduct investigations at the proposed Sabal Trail crossing under the Suwannee River from Hamilton County and under U.S. 90 in close proximity to the Falmouth Cave System in Suwannee County.

This Schreuder report concludes about the Floridan Aquifer System (FAS): Continue reading

Hydrogeologic Issues of Concern, HDD under Suwannee River –Peter J. Schreuder 2016-06-23

See press release, New hydrology report exposes Sabal Trail pipeline risk to Floridan Aquifer, and this report is also available in PDF.

Hydrogeologic Issues of Concern

Schreuder, Inc. Water-Resources & Environmental Consultants

Directional Horizontal Drilling (HDD) under the
Suwannee River
At Suwannee River State Park

Hydrogeologic Issues of Concern

In any review of potential environmental consequences related to the use of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), both the geotechnical and scientific communities can be expected to raise serious concerns when such drilling is done around karst areas, and in regions which over lie the Floridan Aquifer System (FAS), which includes the Upper Floridan Aquifer, and the karstic geologic subsurface features at the location proposed in Continue reading

Ribbon Cutting, new WWTP and Force Main 2016-07-12

Finally ready for prime time and a ribbon cutting: the new, uphill, out-of-the-floodplain, long-awaited Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Force Main, New WWTP site near Withlacoochee River which have not overflowed or otherwise caused sewage spills in the recent rains, so maybe Valdosta’s chronic problem smelt downstream all the way to the Gulf is perhaps finally fixed. Congratulations, Valdosta!

When: 8AM Tuesday July 12th 2016

Where: At the new WWTP on Wetherington Lane, north off US 84, west of I-75 exit 16

Invitations: Paper invitations were mailed last week, including to counties and health departments downstream in Florida, according to Sementha Mathews. If you didn’t get one, contact her, and she says the event is in any case open to the public.

Update 2016-05-30: Sementha Mathews says the paper invitations were mailed Tuesday (day before yesterday), so they should arrive by the end of the week. Arrived.

Contact: Sementha Mathews Continue reading

Push to block Sabal Trail gas pipeline looks to enlist U.S. Army Corps of Engineers –Florida Bulldog

Again tying Florida Governor Rick Scott into the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline invasion, Florida Bulldog reports about last month’s elected official hike at the Suwannee River, Pastured Life, Peurrung, Hildreth Compressor Station but could get no response from hike attendee Ted Yoho FL-03. And FL Bulldog confirmed that as of last week the Corps had not responded to Sanford Bishop GA-02.

Jake Galvin and Dan Christensen, Florida Bulldog, 28 June 2016, Push to block Sabal Trail gas pipeline looks to enlist U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Continue reading

Pipeline Opposition Meeting in Gainesville, FL 2016-08-06

August 6th in Gainesville, you can join groups and individuals in Gainesville to defend water and property rights from the invading Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

Third place: Jessica Bowman, Branford High School, 12 grade
Picture by Jessica Bowman, Branford High School, 12 grade, Third Place in Lime Run Sink Photography Contest organized by the Woman’s Club of Live Oak and WWALS Watershed Coalition.

You can register for the conference here, and soon we’ll hear the location and times of day. All of Florida and south Georgia drinks from the Floridan Aquifer, and the Suwannee, Santa Fe, and other rivers with their springs such as Lime Run (depicted here) are gems that also bring in substantial tourism revenue to Florida.

While Sabal Trail only aims at the southwest corner of Alachua County, Gainesville is near the center of the proposed pipeline path of destruction and hazard in Florida. WWALS will be there, and we welcome many new groups to the pipeline opposition which is water conservation and protection of property rights.

Below is what Johanna de Graffenreid of Gulf Restoration Network sent as background. I’ve added some pictures and some links for easy access. WWALS applauds Gulf Restoration Network for taking on the task of organizing this conference.

STOP THE SABAL TRAIL PIPELINE

Continue reading

CR/T Class 3 Permit Change Meeting Report 2016-06-22

A small but inquisitive group attended the CRT Class 3 Permit Change Public meeting on Wednesday June 22nd at the Public Library on Woodrow Wilson Drive in Valdosta.

The representatives of the company included Ramesh Mulani (Operations Manager for CR/T), Brian Jones from International Paper (apparently International Paper is responsible for the monitoring of the wells), Carol Northern from EarthCon Consultants, a subcontractor to International Paper and a gentleman whose name I failed to record. Ms. Northern gave a detailed overview of the reasons for the two permit change requests.

  1. The first permit change was to Continue reading

Where to look for dye from Alapaha Dye test

Update 2023-05-01: Alapaha Swallets Dye Trace Project 2016-10-01.

Tom Greenhalgh dying the Dead River, Harley Means, and a drone Tom Greenhalgh started putting the dye in the Dead River Swallet about 11:06 this morning, with Harley Means observing in this picture, plus a drone also taking pictures. See below for where to look for the dye coming back up in the next few days. If you see it, please take a water sample for SRWMD. Continue reading