Category Archives: creeks

Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest returns –Valdosta Today 2023-07-14

Valdosta Today, July 14, 2023, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest returns,

HAHIRA — The Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest returns with Chuck Roberts as M.C. plus WWALS River Revue.

Release:

[Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest returns --Valdosta Today 2023-07-14]
Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest returns –Valdosta Today 2023-07-14
in Pictures: Portage Big Shoals, Paddle Little Shoals, Suwannee River, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 20 May 2023, MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023

Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest plus WWALS River Revue.

Master of Ceremonies Chuck Roberts says about himself, “I grew up in Quitman and Valdosta, raised by two loving musical parents to enjoy and appreciate ALL kinds of music, because the arts enrich the mind and nourish the soul. Presbyterian Church Minister of Music for over 30 years. St. James Episcopal Soloist for over 25 years. Sang with Botie Chitty and The Singing Americans for 10 years. Recently sang two solos with Ed Barr Orchestra for Turner Center Arts AMERICAN SOUNDTRACK VOL. IX. I have the sweetest wife in the world, Sheila and three beautiful and talented daughters and two talented sons, and a new Golden Doodle puppy.”

“I’m very pleased to welcome Chuck Roberts back again as M.C.,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

This first-ever WWALS gala is an indoor fundraising gala, with catered sit-down meal, speakers, silent auction, and kayak raffle. It will be held 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/ Continue reading →

Pictures: Two Mile Branch Berkley Drive Cleanup 2023-03-25

It went well, the joint WWALS and City of Valdosta cleanup of Two Mile Branch at Berkley Drive, on March 25, 2023.

Many good things have happened since then.

However, there is still plenty the City needs to do about trash.

[Collage @ Two Mile Branch Cleanup 2023-03-25]
Collage @ Two Mile Branch Cleanup 2023-03-25

Thanks to Bobby McKenzie for leading, neighbor Jan Powell for rustling up some participants and helping at the table, to City Engineer Ben O’Dowd, City Council Tim Carroll, and Mayor Scott James Matheson for helping, along with quite a few other volunteers.

See also facebook photosets and videos by:

Some of the things the Engineer and Mayor promised have happened. Continue reading →

Yet another Valdosta sewage spill, five days ago, at 1800 E. Park Ave., Knights Creek 2023-07-06

2023-07-17: Knights Creek tested too high for E. coli before Valdosta reported the latest spill 2023-07-10.

Update 2023-07-14: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-07-13.

Obviously informing the public of dangers to public health is not a top priority of the City of Valdosta.

[Map: 1800 E. Park Avenue and Knights Creek in ARWT]
Map: 1800 E. Park Avenue and Knights Creek
in the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT)

Valdosta spilled 194,251 gallons of raw sewage, starting about five days ago, and today they get around to telling the public at 6:24 PM.

That’s more than 10,000 gallons, which means it is a major spill.

At least this time, unlike last sewage spill, Valdosta bothered to say how many gallons and a relatively precise location. Yet this spill is not in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, and that last one still is not.

There was no need to put another marker on the ARWT map for this most recent spill, because it is the same location as the series of spills this February. Unlike in February, this today’s press release does name Knights Creek. It does not say Knights Creek flows into Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River, then the Suwannee River to the Gulf.

Still, five days to inform the public? Why, Valdosta? Continue reading →

Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest plus WWALS River Revue

Update 2023-07-20: Juneteenth and River Ferries: Speakers in WWALS River Revue 2023-07-20.

Hahira, GA, July 10, 2023 — Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and this time for the entire first-ever WWALS River Revue.

[MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023]
MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023

Master of Ceremonies Chuck Roberts says about himself, “I grew up in Quitman and Valdosta, raised by two loving musical parents to enjoy and appreciate ALL kinds of music, because the arts enrich the mind and nourish the soul. Presbyterian Church Minister of Music for over 30 years. St. James Episcopal Soloist for over 25 years. Sang with Botie Chitty and The Singing Americans for 10 years. Recently sang two solos with Ed Barr Orchestra for Turner Center Arts AMERICAN SOUNDTRACK VOL. IX. I have the sweetest wife in the world, Sheila and three beautiful and talented daughters and two talented sons, and a new Golden Doodle puppy.”

“I’m very pleased to welcome Chuck Roberts back again as M.C.,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

This first-ever WWALS gala is an indoor fundraising gala, with catered sit-down meal, speakers, silent auction, and kayak raffle. It will be held 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/ Continue reading →

Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch Sewage Spill Sign 2023-06-26

Update 2023-06-26: Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek OK Sunday 2023-06-25.

Nobody from the City of Valdosta answered my questions about the One Mile Branch Williams Street sewage spill after the Saturday 5:14 PM Valdosta press release, until City Manager Richard Hardy this morning texted me “1600 block William St.”

That’s between E. College and E. Moore Streets. But that’s not where the sewage spill warning sign is.

[Sewage spill sign, pump, pipe at One Mile Branch, pipe and vac truck along Williams Street, E. College St. to E. Moore St., 2023-06-26]
Sewage spill sign, pump, pipe at One Mile Branch, pipe and vac truck along Williams Street, E. College St. to E. Moore St., 2023-06-26

The first WWALS scout to get there was WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, who sent back these pictures, and some videos:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QyzUieq3tFY0Ps6TmiJa65A

Why Valdosta Utilities or the Valdosta PIO did not post such pictures is mysterious.

I’d give Valdosta a B+ on dealing with the spill (no higher, because they did not discover it).

But I give Valdosta a D on informing the public: a press release three days after they were informed of the spill, after 5PM on a Saturday, when people would already be fishing or boating downstream, with no location within three miles, no estimate of how much was spilled, unclear on whether the situation is fixed or not, and no answer to questions for another day and a half. Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage into One Mile Branch 2023-06-21

Update 2023-06-26: Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch Sewage Spill Sign 2023-06-26.

Valdosta had a sewage spill starting Wednesday and did not tell the public until Saturday at 5:14 PM.

[Map: One Mile Branch, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2023-06-24]
Map: One Mile Branch, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2023-06-24 in the WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail
All the yellow diamonds indicate earlier Valdosta sewage spills.

Where on the more than three-mile-long One Mile Branch the spill occurred was not mentioned in the Valdosta press release. This is perhaps the most vague sewage spill press release ever from Valdosta, with no location even as precise as a block, no estimate of how much sewage was spilled, and no indication of how long it had been going on.

I have inquired about those things.

It’s good that WWALS rescheduled our chainsaw cleanup that was going to be today, on the Withlacoochee River downstream from Sugar Creek and One Mile Branch, where the spill happened.

The City of Valdosta Press Release

Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta trash tour again 2023-05-23

Malia Thomas, reporter for the Valdosta Daily Times, and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman toured many of the same Valdosta trash locations we visited three months earlier. Most of them did not seem what you might call fixed.

[Valdosta Trash Examples 2023-05-23]
Valdosta Trash Examples 2023-05-23

Plus one added stop was most definitely not fixed. Apparently 84 days of $100 a day fines were not enough.

There is some progress on Valdosta’s chronic trash problem, such as the three trash traps (thanks, City Engineer Ben O’Dowd and Stormwater Manager Angela Bray) and the notices sent to parking lot owners by City Marshalls (thanks, Community Protections Manager Anetra Riley), but there is also much more room for improvement. Apparently some of those notices have not had much effect yet, and more trash traps are needed, as well as other measures. See:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash/

Needless to say, WWALS and the usual citizens are still watching and speaking up. Continue reading →

Pictures: Valdosta trash tour with Valdosta Daily Times reporter 2023-02-28

Update 2023-06-14: Videos: Valdosta trash tour again 2023-05-23.

Malia Thomas, reporter for the Valdosta Daily Times, came to see some Valdosta trash locations.

[Trash locations]
Trash locations

You may remember Malia from reporting such as:

Here is a WWALS video playlist from some of the locations we toured. Continue reading →

Origins of WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper Part 1

People are often confused: what are WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper, where did they come from, how are they related, and what do they do?

Well, it’s a long story. Here is the first of several parts.

[Black and white square WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper logos]
Black and white square WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper logos

You’ll probably see this reposted on Walk Around Lowndes:
https://walkaroundlowndes.spyderserve.info/

Justin Coleman is walking every road and street in Lowndes County, Georgia, and blogging about it, featuring Suwannee Riverkeeper.

What is the mission of WWALS?

Continue reading →

Naylor to Mayday Paddle, Alapaha River 2023-08-12

Update 2023-07-31: After a scouting trip it has been determined this outing is NOT for beginners. The river is low but some of the rocky shoals, ledges and chutes are challenging.

Parking for the takeout at Mayday is soft dirt/sand and not suitable for vehicles that can’t handle rough conditions.

We’re not canceling unless the river drops too low or in case of thunderstorms. We also have some outings coming up that will be more suitable for all paddlers.

Paddle 11.24 miles on the Alapaha from Naylor to Mayday, through significant shoals, past several creeks.

Shirley Kokidko, leading this paddle, says, “I really want the shuttle to begin on time at 9, Mayday is a popular beach and parking is helter skelter.”

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman noted, “You can help us solve the mystery of why is Cow Creek always foaming.”

Shirley adds, “Be prepared at the end to climb up the sandhill at Mayday. It’s tough getting boats uphill in the deep sand, I’m not sure wheels are much help.”

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, August 12, 2023

Put In: Naylor Boat Ramp, 6955 US 84 E, Naylor, GA 31641, right bank, west of the river, north of US 84, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.924282, -83.038427

[River Bend Rapids, Foaming Cow Creek, Naylor Landing Sandhill 2016-05-07]
River Bend Rapids, Foaming Cow Creek, Naylor Landing Sandhill 2016-05-07

Continue reading →