Category Archives: Blueway

Better Saturday at Knights Ferry, Nankin, Withlacoochee River, but rain 2020-04-18

Update 2020-04-24: OK quality mid-week, but much rain yesterday, Withlacoochee River 2020-04-22.

WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall got 300 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp Saturday, and 333 at Nankin Boat Ramp, both on the Withlacoochee River. That’s similar to Thursday at Knights Ferry, and better at Nankin; both not good, but not terrible. See also What do these numbers mean?

But watch out: it rained a quarter inch in Brooks County, Georgia, Sunday. WWALS continues testing and correlating results from various sources with rainfall.

You can help by donating for water quality collection supplies. Even those metal yellow Caution signs cost money. See below for those signs going up during the livestreamed virtual Earth Day cleanup at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp.

[Boaters, Suzy, signs, trash, Bobby]
Boaters, Suzy, signs, trash, Bobby

There were a bunch of boaters, all keeping their distance. They were already aware of the contamination, but did not plan to get in the river water.

Apparently most of the previous contamination had washed down the river, but how far? Continue reading

Cleaner Withlacoochee, horrid Crooked Creek 2020-04-16

Update 2020-04-20: Better Saturday at Knights Ferry, Nankin, Withlacoochee River, but rain 2020-04-18.

I put back up a WWALS Caution sign at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp yesterday because of recent bacterial results on the Withlacoochee River; our signs are still up at Nankin and State Line. Thanks to WWALS testers and Madison Health, we have a pretty good picture of creeks and Withlacoochee River health yesterday, to add to what Valdosta got Wednesday. More WWALS testing this weekend. You can help.

And you can watch the livestream Saturday morning (probably today when you read this), April 18, 2020, starting at 8AM, as we demonstrate cleaning up and posting water trail signs at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp. Look for the livestream on the facebook event.

[Caution sign]
Caution sign

You can’t see E. coli, but you can see trash, such as this at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, Thursday, April 16, 2020. That location had much less E. coli, 233 cfu/100 mL, than only two days before, as did State Line Boat Ramp and CR 150 (Sullivan Launch), but Nankin Boat Ramp had 800 and Florida 6 had 538, just above Madison Blue Spring. Okapilco Creek was OK at US 84, with 166, but Crooked Creek at Devane Road was horrid with TNTC, Too Numerous to Count. See also What do these numbers mean? Continue reading

Bad quality north Lowndes to state line, Withlacoochee River 2020-04-15

If it was this bad at the state line yesterday, this contamination must be in Florida by now. So watch out Lowndes and Brooks Counties, Georgia, and Madison and Hamilton Counties, Florida.

I am going now to collect some samples, as are some other WWALS testers. You can help.

[Bad from US 41 to state line]
Bad from US 41 to state line
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida data, see wwals.net/issues/testing/.

So after contamination after last week’s rain, the Withlacoochee River was cleaner Sunday and even more so during the week. But that changed much for the worse with the rain yesterday. Continue reading

How far from one Boat Ramp to the next landing? WWALS Water Trails

Update 2022-11-29: Get your z-fold water trail brochures at any WWALS outing or event, and see the at-water and road signs. This post updated with current images from the WLRWT map and Access web page.

Lately I’ve seen a lot of posts such as “how many miles from Knights Ferry Boat Ramp to Nankin?” That’s 6.65 river miles, or about 3.3 paddle hours, and here’s how you can find out, for the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, for the Alapaha River, and for the Suwannee, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers, plus interactive maps.

[Map: Knights Ferry Boat Ramp]
Map: Knights Ferry Boat Ramp

The Access Points web page for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT) lists all the public boat ramps and landings on the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, with river miles downstream to the next one. Also an estimate of paddling hours, GPS coordinates, icons for amenities, and a link to the most relevant river gauge.

How can you find that web page? Go to Continue reading

Cleaner at State Line, Withlacoochee River 2020-40-12

Much better water quality Sunday at State Line Boat Ramp than upstream the day before.

Sunday Suzy Hall got 333 cfu/100 mL E. coli at State Line Boat Ramp, which is merely not very good. That’s way better than the extremely bad result she got at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp Saturday, 15.55 river miles upstream on the the Withlacoochee River. WWALS continues to sample. You can help.

[Withlacoochee River]
All photos by Suzy Hall, Withlacoochee River

Suzy remarked: “Both days plenty of boats enjoying the weather. You see the WWALS sign remains, and looks like it probably needs to. Rain seems to wash uglies downstream.”

[WWALS Signs]
WWALS Signs

There wasn’t any more rain over the weekend, but Monday rain fell from half an inch at US 84 to more than an inch upstream. Continue reading

Again, Within these WWALS 2020-04-13

Contest number 2: Please identify (by scientific or common name) each of the items highlighted in a set of photos and then come up with the name of the WWALS waterway where all the photos were taken.

You can answer here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCgPOcO2dnF_HyHNWdR4rWctS4WkXrggq4AtGL_2TGm6j18Q/viewform

[Four square]
Four square

The first person to submit the correct answers wins a packet of WWALS photo cards from that watershed.
https://wwals.net/2020/03/30/wwals-online-store-cards-hats-stickers-raffle-membership/

Winners will be listed in Continue reading

Sewage spill, Cherry Creek, Valdosta, FOG 2020-04-09

Sewage ran down the ditch from Bemiss Road down Cherry Creek Church Road on Thursday, but there is good news about that.

[Pumping]
Pumping

This is why you don’t want to be flushing any old thing down the drain. Continue reading

Reroute: Little River, Cook County Boat Ramp upstream to Stone Bridge 2020-05-16

Update 2020-05-26: Pictures: Stone Bridge paddle from Cook County Boat Ramp (GA 76) 2020-05-16.

Update 2020-05-21: Three Little River Landings in Swim Guide 2020-05-21

Update 2020-05-20: Clean weekend 2020-05-17.

Changed to put in at Cook County Boat Ramp on GA 76 and paddle upstream past Stone Bridge, and then back. This avoids the outings problem during the stay-home period of the novel coronavirus pandemic: no shuttle, so no crowding together. Yes, boating is not just permitted, it is encouraged by the state of Georgia; see Florida and Georgia Boat Ramps Status 2020-04-09. To keep it that way, everyone please remember to stay 6 feet apart on land and 10 feet apart on the water.

This is a leisurely paddle on a very seldom-paddled stretch of wild south Georgia blackwater river, the Little River, between Adel and Barney.

When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10 AM, Saturday, May 16, 2020

Put In: Cook County Boat Ramp, Mile 31.41. 966 Quitman Highway (GA 76), Adel, GA 31620, in Cook County.
Between Adel and Barney, southeast side of GA 76, northeast side (left bank) of Little River, gravel ramp. Also known as Cook County Landing (GDOT). Left or right bank means when facing downstream.

GPS: 31.040042, -83.493085

Landmark 1: Stone Bridge, 31.04962, -83.49932, Mile 32.36, about a mile upstream from Cook County Boat Ramp.

Take Out: Same as Put In.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. These days, a facemask would not be amiss.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Burt Kornegay, March 24, 2018, Stone Bridge
Photo: Burt Kornegay, March 2018, of Stone Bridge over Little River, SW of Adel, GA.
More about Stone Bridge, including more pictures: Stone Bridge, Little River, by Dan Phillips 2016-08-01.

Duration: 2 hours (depending on how far upstream we go)

Shuttle: None, so no crowding together.

Landmark 2: Continue reading

Video of facebook livestream from Banks Lake 2020-04-09

Shelby Miller did facebook livestream from Banks Lake last night.

[Bobby staying dry]
Bobby staying dry

In this still, you can see Bobby McKenzie in the raffle kayak, Continue reading

Livestream: Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle, 2020-04-08

Shelby Miller will go live on the facebook event at 7:15 PM tonight. She’ll be streaming for an hour through sunset at 7:51 PM. She will have to miss moonrise in order to be out well before the 9PM Lanier County curfew.

[Sunset spire (MM)]
Photo: Monica McKenzie, Sunset spire (MM), Banks Lake, 2020-02-09.

Bobby McKenzie will be on Banks Lake with Shelby, paddling the raffle kayak, and also taking video for later publication. Continue reading