Category Archives: creeks

Another Valdosta E. Park Ave. sewage spill, 171,750 gallons 2023-02-20

Update 2023-02-28: Yet another Valdosta sewage spill into Knights Creek 2023-02-22.

Update 2023-02-25: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-02-23.

No wonder E. Park Ave. stunk of sewage when I went there yesterday. Valdosta had another sewage spill there, next to Knights Creek, this Monday.

[ARWT map, E. Park Ave., US 84]
ARWT map, E. Park Ave., US 84

Received 4:56 PM today:

On Monday, February 20, 2023, during a routine inspection, city staff located a sewer issue at the 1800 block of East Park Avenue. Upon investigation, it was determined that a bypass pump suction line elevation was not adequate to handle the oncoming flow and surcharged the collection system. City staff and a local contractor worked around the clock to make the adjustments and stop the spill. An estimated 171,750 gallons of sewer was released into the wetland watershed area adjacent to Knights Creek. City staff immediately began cleanup and disinfecting at the overflow location. All appropriate regulatory and public health agencies have been notified, and warning signs have been posted.

The rest of this sewage spill press release is the same Continue reading →

Valdosta and Ashburn in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2023-02-23

Update 2023-02-25: Ashburn sewage spills in Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-02-23.

Update 2023-02-24: Another Valdosta E. Park Ave. sewage spill, 171,750 gallons 2023-02-20

Thursday was jackpot day for the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, with Ashburn reporting spills totalling 326,000 gallons, almost half of Valdosta’s one 672,250 gallon spill.

[GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2023-02-23]
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2023-02-23

First let’s look at Ashburn, then Valdosta. Continue reading →

Valdosta City Engineer and GA-DNR, Two Mile Branch @ Berkley Drive 2023-02-23

Valdosta City Engineer Benjamin O’Dowd volunteered to three GA-DNR people that there was still trash in the woods after the recent vac-truck cleanout of Two Mile Branch at Berkley Drive. He is considering what to do about that.

[Valdosta City Engineer, GA-DNR, Two Mile Branch, Berkley Drive 2023-02-23]
Valdosta City Engineer, GA-DNR, Two Mile Branch, Berkley Drive 2023-02-23

In addition to maybe moving the current Sugar Creek Watergoat to Two Mile Branch, another possibility is a concrete-and-steel trash trap like the one Valdosta recently built at its Lee Street Detention Pond.

I know this because Continue reading →

Valdosta sprays Glyphosate on elephant ears 2023-02-19

Update 2023-04-05: Maps: Valdosta Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters 2023-03-01.

The most interesting parts of the response to the open records request I sent to Valdosta about spraying are the summary by Stormwater Manager Angela Bray, and the Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters.

I agree with her first two points, but am confused by her other two.

[ORR Response and Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters]
ORR Response and Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters

This is the main part of the Stormwater Manager’s summary: Continue reading →

Valdosta will maintain Berkley Drive trash trap 2023-02-22

The City of Valdosta says it will maintain its forthcoming trash trap location on Two Mile Branch at Berkley Drive.

[Picture and Map, Two Mile Branch @ Berkeley Drive]
Picture and Map, Two Mile Branch @ Berkeley Drive

City Engineer Benjamin O’Dowd also write that the city had cleaned up some trash there with a vac truck. He thanked volunteer Russell Allen McBride for his cleanup of the trash trap on Sugar Creek.

WWALS thanks the Engineer and the City for all those things.

These are some small steps towards keeping trash out of the Withlacoochee River, for example out of the path of next week’s Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. Continue reading →

Valdosta says it spilled 672,250 gallons of sewage into the Knights Creek floodplain 2023-02-21

Update 2023-02-24: Valdosta and Ashburn in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2023-02-23.

This afternoon Valdosta said it spilled 672,250 gallons of sewage last Wednesday, near Knights Creek between East Park Ave. (Lakeland Highway) and US 84 (East Hill Ave.) on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

[VALORGIS and ARWT maps, E. Park Ave., US 84, Valdosta sewage spill 2023-02-15]
VALORGIS and ARWT maps, E. Park Ave., US 84, Valdosta sewage spill 2023-02-15

This additional press release, after the previous one last Thursday, says the sewage “was released into the wetland watershed area adjacent to Knights Creek.”

It’s good the city mentioned the creek this time. But as usual, Valdosta did not mention that Knights Creek runs into Mud Swamp Creek, then the Alapahoochee River through Echols County, Georgia, then the Alapaha River in Hamilton County, Florida.

We know by WWALS testing that any effects on the Alapaha River seemed to be gone by Saturday.

Because this is a major spill (more than 10,000 gallons), Valdosta is required to do followup water quality testing. WWALS will be requesting that data, as well.

Today’s Valdosta press release also says, “City staff immediately began cleanup and disinfecting at the overflow location. All appropriate regulatory and public health agencies have been notified, and warning signs have been posted.”

I applaud the city’s efforts to clean up that mess.

However, this spill still does not appear in GA-EPD’s Sewage Spills Report on this seventh day since the spill. Continue reading →

Clean water quality at Mud Swamp Creek and Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2023-02-18

Update 2023-02-21: Valdosta says it spilled 672,250 gallons of sewage into the Knights Creek floodplain 2023-02-21.

WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall tested two sites in the Alapaha River Basin Saturday, and got good results at both. And she videoed a waterfall on Mud Swamp Creek.

[Mud Swamp Creek @ Old Clyattville Road, Alapaha River @ Sasser Landing 2023-02-18]
Mud Swamp Creek @ Old Clyattville Road, Alapaha River @ Sasser Landing 2023-02-18

The site at Old Clyattville Road is upstream on Mud Swamp Creek from where Knights Creek comes in, and the site at Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River is downstream from where the Alapahoochee River carries Mud Swamp Creek water into the Alapaha. So if the Valdosta sewage spill of Wednesday, February 15, 2023, ever had any effect on the Alapaha River, that contamination has apparently washed downstream or has been diluted. Continue reading →

Valdosta promises an upgraded Watergoat; offers no plan for cleaning it out or nearby woods 2023-02-17

Update 2023-02-22: Valdosta will maintain Berkley Drive trash trap 2023-02-22.

Valdosta City Engineer Benjamin O’Dowd says Valdosta has purchased an upgraded Watergoat trash trap, to be installed in approximately March.

It will go in Sugar Creek, he says, and the old one will go into Two Mile Branch below Berkley Drive.

[Valdosta promises new Watergoat, Two Mile Branch trash report, Old Watergoat, Two Mile Branch trash]
Valdosta promises new Watergoat, Two Mile Branch trash report, Old Watergoat, Two Mile Branch trash

That’s all good. Thanks for doing that, Engineer O’Dowd, and City of Valdosta.

But he did not mention any plan for cleaning out that new trash trap location on Two Mile Branch. Remember, Continue reading →

Pictures: A boatload of tires out of Sugar Creek 2020-10-10

We got 577 pounds of trash and a bunch of tires out of Sugar Creek, as part of the River and Creek Cleanup, Lowndes County, Valdosta, and WWALS 2020-10-10. Probably more than that; that number is from one record sheet.

[Tire boat, trash ashore and recorded]
Tire boat, trash ashore and recorded

WLRWT, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, Withlacoochee River, Special thanks to Bobby McKenzie, Scotti Jay, Tom Potter, Sara Jay, Elizabeth Brunner, and Joe Johnson, among WWALS regulars, plus at least seventeen more volunteers. And thanks to Current Problems for coming up from Gainesville, Florida, to help.

This was a very productive cleanup, getting some trash out of Sugar Creek before it got to the Withlacoochee River. It makes Continue reading →

Pictures: Trash at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2023-02-09

Will Hart and Amy Meyers got some interesting pictures at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp while practicing their new skill of water quality testing.

Really, boaters and outdoor partiers, leaving the places like this does not encourage people to paddle on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

[Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, trash, firepit, underwear]
Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, trash, firepit, underwear

I know Lowndes County Litter Control comes by weekly and cleans up. But people who leave this mess are wasting tax dollars with extra work.

The individual pictures are below. Continue reading →