Category Archives: creeks

Okefenokee NWR Minor Acquisition Boundary Expansion approved by USFWS 2025-01-03

Now anyone who wants to sell property within the new boundary to the Refuge can do so.

That includes the coal miners from Alabama who want to strip mine within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp. Sure, right now they say they don’t want to do that, but things could change.

See also the WWALS support letter for this Minor Expansion, which notes that this action protects not just Trail Ridge, but the entire circumference of the Swamp.
https://wwals.net/?p=66587

Leslie Hull-Ryde, USFWS PR, January 3, 2025, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Plan for a Minor Expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Boundary
Enables voluntary actions to protect hydrological integrity, conserve wetlands and key wildlife habitat, and create fuel reduction zone to help protect neighboring properties

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced its final decision to expand the acquisition boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge by approximately 22,000 acres. The new acquisition boundary includes lands currently held by a variety of owners within a 1-mile fuel reduction zone adjacent to the refuge. Potential conservation actions on the lands within the boundary expansion could strengthen protection of the hydrological integrity of the swamp, provide habitat for the gopher tortoise, mitigate impacts of wildfires, and provide opportunities for longleaf pine restoration to benefit the red-cockaded woodpecker.

The expanded boundary allows the Service to potentially offer priority public uses such as hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, and education to the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the refuge, thereby driving a growing ecotourism economy within the community.

[Okefenokee NWR Minor Expansion of Acquisition Boundary approved 2025-01-05 by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]
Okefenokee NWR Minor Expansion of Acquisition Boundary approved 2025-01-05 by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Today’s decision follows the Department’s recent announcement that Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge will be nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List. If designated, the refuge would join the list recognizing 1,223 cultural and natural sites of universal importance, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall in China, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02

Update 2025-01-06: Valdosta has found the Sugar Creek sewage leak 2024-01-06.

Sugar Creek is still filthy at Gornto Road to the Withlacoochee River, and at a sewer line upstream. It’s not as bad farther upstream, so that sewer line could be the creek contamination source. It’s time to fix it.

The Withlacoochee River is also filthy 62 river miles downstream, only 4 miles from the Suwannee River.

Yet Valdosta Utilities reported OK water quality in between at GA 133 and at US 84.

Did the downstream contamination wash that far down from Sugar Creek after last Sunday’s rains? Or did the downstream contamination come from somewhere else, such as from Quitman, GA, down Okapilco Creek into the Withlacoochee River? Valdosta used to test on Okapilco Creek at US 84 and on the Withlacoochee River at Knights Ferry just below Okapilco Creek, but they stopped that a year ago, so we don’t know.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. But sometimes reports come late or not at all.

This weekend, I’d avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River downstream from it all the way to the Suwannee River. If you like cold, this weekend may be good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, on other rivers, such as the Alapaha, Santa Fe, Ichetucknee, or Suwannee.

[Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02, No rain, no reported sewage spills. What is the contamination source?]
Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02, No rain, no reported sewage spills. What is the contamination source?

Sugar Creek

Continue reading →

Sugar Creek sewer lines, Valdosta, GA 2024-12-29

Update 2024-01-04: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02.

Where is the contamination in Sugar Creek coming from in Valdosta, Georgia?

Apparently mostly from somewhere between Baytree Road and Gornto Road, according to recent water quality results.

One way to narrow down the source is to collect water quality samples at more places between those city roads.

And likely places to check would be just below where sewer lines cross Sugar Creek.

[Valdosta sewer mains crossing Sugar Creek between Baytree Road and Gornto Road towards the Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA]
Valdosta sewer mains crossing Sugar Creek between Baytree Road and Gornto Road towards the Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA

It would be very useful to know if anybody has seen or smelled sewage just west of Sugar Creek on Spring Creek Circle, Wooddale Drive, Westbrook Circle, or on South Sherwood Drive.

Or just east of Sugar Creek, on Park Lane or the west ends of W. Park Ave. or McRee Drive.

Or anybody just upstream (south) of Gornto Road at Outdoor Living or Window World or the liquor store.

Here’s how to report it to WWALS and to the City of Valdosta:
https://wwals.net/report/

Continue reading →

Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26

Update 2024-01-04: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02.

Update 2024-12-29: Sugar Creek sewer lines, Valdosta, GA 2024-12-29.

Sugar Creek is still filthy from Gornto Road to the Withlacoochee River.

Rain is predicted for this weekend, which will probably make it worse.

The Alapaha River is OK at Sheboggy Boat Ramp near Alapaha, Georgia.

We have no other river results, due to the holidays.

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

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin. The Santa Fe River at Fort White is still too low to paddle.

So if you like cold and wet, this weekend may be good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek and get out before the big rain Sunday.

Please note that the WWALS cleanup at Wainwright Drive on Sugar Creek for this Sunday has been rescheduled because of predicted rain. The new date is Saturday, January 25, 2025.

[Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26 Thunderstorms predicted this weekend]
Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26 Thunderstorms predicted this weekend

Alapaha River

WWALS tester Heather Brasell for Thursday got OK results at the outflow creek from the Alapaha, Georgia, wastewater plant: 267 cfu/100 mL, which is below the 410 one-time-test limit.

She got 233 for the Alapaha River above Sheboggy Boat Ramp, also OK.

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester John S. Quarterman drew four Sugar Creek samples on Thursday.

At Baytree Road, the results were OK, with 200 cfu/100 mL.

At Gornto Road, we got Too Numerous to Count (TNTC). Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA 2025-01-25

Update 2025-01-26: Pictures: Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta, GA 2025-01-25.

Rescheduled to January because of impending thunderstorms on the previous date.

Join us to clean up trash near the notorious Wainwright Drive manhole on Sugar Creek, along the Azalea City Trail in Valdosta, Georgia.

When: 10 AM-1 PM, Saturday, January 25, 2025

Put In: Wainwright Drive between Baytree Drive and Brookhaven Drive in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.

GPS: 30.84287, -83.30113

[Clean up One Mile Branch on the Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA, Rescheduled to 2025-01-25]
Clean up One Mile Branch on the Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA, Rescheduled to 2025-01-25

Continue reading →

Final Report: Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams 2024-12-01

They decided not to change the 1863 law, and did not chart any clear legislative course forward.

This is better than some courses they could have taken, the Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters.

However, they seem to left the problem for everyone else to navigate in ad hoc partnerships, which could leave paddlers having to negotiate passage among many parties.

[Final Report for little change, maybe privatization of passage 2024-12-01, Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters]
Final Report for little change, maybe privatization of passage 2024-12-01, Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters

Here are the recommendations of the committee from their final report:

  1. Maintain the definition of navigability set forth in O.C.G.A. §44-8-5(a) and the right of passage for navigable streams as found in O.C.G.A. §52-1-31;
  2. Refrain from a statutory delineation of navigable and non-navigable streams;
  3. Incentivize and strengthen tools to foster collaboration and partnerships between landowners, nonprofits, and local/state government that increase opportunities for public access and conservation of Georgia’s waterways;
  4. Preserve the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program;
  5. Urge the Department of Natural Resources to further publicize and fund new technologies that assist in tracking and resolving disputes on waterways; and
  6. Protect Georgia’s fishing, hunting, trapping, and outdoor recreation traditions, as well as those reliant on waterways such as logging and farming, by carefully analyzing the impact of any potential legislation on these sectors.

They paid commendable attention to what the public had to say, including fishers, paddlers, riparian landowners, loggers, farmers, and trappers (who said current law does not permit them to trap on public waters).

Noting pulls in various directions, the committee continued to support the 1863 law that requires a navigable stream to be “capable of transporting boats loaded with freight in the regular course of trade either for the whole or a part of the year,” while the committee also depended on GA-DNR’s opinion: Continue reading →

Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA 2024-12-29

Update 2024-12-27: Due to impending rain at the original date, Rescheduled: Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA 2025-01-25.

Join us to clean up trash near the notorious Wainwright Drive manhole on Sugar Creek, along the Azalea City Trail in Valdosta, Georgia.

When: 10 AM-1 PM, Sunday, December 29, 2024

Put In: Wainwright Drive between Baytree Drive and Brookhaven Drive in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.

GPS: 30.84287, -83.30113

[Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail 2024-12-29, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA]
Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail 2024-12-29, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta GA

Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19

Update 2024-12-27: Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26.

With no rain since last week, Sugar Creek is better, but still has too much E. coli at the WaterGoat near the Withlacoochee River. River water dilutes it below there, and upstream also the Withlacoochee River is clean. The Little and Alapaha Rivers tested clean.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, but in Georgia, Ashburn had yet another small spill.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin. The Santa Fe River at Fort White is actually too low to paddle.

So if you like cold, this weekend seems good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek.

[Clean Alapaha, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend]
Clean Alapaha, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend

Alapaha River

Ashburn reported quickly for once that it had a 2,000-gallon sewage spill into Hat Creek from the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive. This time the cause was “Equipment failure.” Get a grip, Ashburn! Continue reading →

Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Malia Thomas tried to cram two or three stories into her WTXL TV report about Valdosta closing the Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek. She asked me about all of the effects of the bridge closure, contamination of Sugar Creek, sewage spills, Valdosta municipal bonds for water and sewer projects, how those are all related, and what caused them. A for effort to Malia.

[Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells]
Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells

Among other things I said on-camera: to help find the source of the ongoing contamination in Sugar Creek, if anyone sees or smells sewage near Sugar Creek, One Mile Branch, or Hightower Creek, please let us know:
https://wwals.net/report/

And contact Valdosta Utilities:
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities

After excerpts from the WTXL story, I’ve included the Valdosta press releases about the bridge closure and businesses remaining open.

Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, December 20, 2024, Recent flood damage prompts repairs to Gornto Road bridge in Valdosta:
Valdosta works to repair Gornto Road after flood erosion compromises Earl Wetherington Bridge.

…

  • Heavy flooding from Hurricane Helene caused erosion under the Earl Wetherington Bridge on Gornto Road in Valdosta.
Continue reading →

Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta? 2024-12-17

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Update 2024-12-21: Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20.

Yesterday I went to the locations of all the recent creek water quality tests in Valdosta. No sewage spill warning signs were posted at any of them.

I understand that it can be difficult to find the cause of this ongoing contamination of these creeks weeks after the flash flood.

But how much can it cost to plant sewage spill warning signs?

There were no signs at Wainwright Drive or W Gordon Street on One Mile Branch, where Valdosta got 2,040 and 1,045 cfu/100 mL E. coli for Tuesday last week. The alert limit is 1,000. Not even where the Azalea City Trail goes along One Mile Branch at Wainwright Drive.

Not at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek where Valdosta got 1,120, nor at Baytree Road nor at the Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle sewer line on Sugar Creek where WWALS got 13,433 and 6,533 for Wednesday of last week. The higher the numbers, the more likely someone will get sick, either from the E. coli itself, or from other contaminants in sewage.

Not at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek where Valdosta got 11,900 and WWALS got TNTC, Too Numerous to Count. And not at Sugar Creek in front of Berta’s Kitchen, where WWALS got TNTC, and not at the bottom of Berta’s parking lot near the WaterGoat.

Also not at Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River, even though Valdosta has previously posted a sewage spill sign there when there was Withlacoochee River contamination, such as the 695 Valdosta got at GA 133 for Tuesday of last week. The one-time limit is 410.

I did find one sewage spill sign: facedown in the dirt between Berta’s parking lot and the WaterGoat.

How about some sewage spill warning signs, Valdosta, planted where people can see them?

[Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

Here is a chart of the numbers. Continue reading →