Update 2025-01-31: Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers; Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-29.
As Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes promised Friday, results from the Valdosta water quality samples that day are on the city’s website.
There’s good news and bad news.
![[Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-01-24--wq/fbmany.jpg)
Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse
The good news is: E. coli counts at Gornto Road are down to 2,500 from 8,900 cfu/100 mL a week before. Continue reading
Update 2025-01-17: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15.
GA-EPD has updated the Valdosta Sugar Creek spill to 15,000 gallons. That’s more than 10,000 gallons, which is a major spill. Valdosta’s state-required reporting after it shows Sugar Creek still filthy for Saturday.
![[Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-01-11--wq/fbmany.jpg)
Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill
Valdosta’s new web page on 2025 Sugar Creek Spill Testing shows 5,300 Fecal coliform and 5,500 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Gornto Road for Saturday. That’s 5.5 times the 1,000 alert limit. Continue reading
Update 2024-12-13: Filthy Sugar Creek, dirty Franks Creek, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-12.
I got part of what I asked for in an open records request to the City of Valdosta: “All sewage spill reports sent to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) on or after November 6, 2024, through December 2, 2024”. Those provide some extra detail, and some hints of fixes being planed for these problems.
![[Valdosta sewage spill reports to GA-EPD, from November 7 through December 3, 2024]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-12-03--vld-orr-sewage-spill-reports/many.jpg)
Valdosta sewage spill reports to GA-EPD, from November 7 through December 3, 2024
I did not get the rest of it: “together with all associated correspondence between the City of Valdosta, GA-EPD, and other parties including state agencies in Georgia and Florida and relevant landowners.”
Let’s look at the most recent spill in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, and compare that to what Valdosta Utilities sent to GA-EPD. Continue reading
Ashburn still needs to get a grip on its sewage spills. More timely reporting would also be good. One of them showed up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report a month late, and the other a week after the spill.
I missed seeing these Ashburn spills when they first appeared, due to a glitch in network access for the WWALS software that retrieves and interprets these reports daily.
![[Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024, in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-11-13]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-10-14--ashburn-wtp-spill/many.jpg)
Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024
It’s not clear why it says “Wet weather” for October 14, since the only rain records I can find for Ashburn, Georgia, say it was clear and sunny that day and the day before. There was a fatal car wreck on I-75 in Ashburn on October 14, but the news report says nothing about wet weather.
Of course, Ashburn could have had its own flash flood event.
The November 7 Ashburn spill coincides with the Valdosta flash flood, and some of that rain did extend farther north. Continue reading
Water withdrawals in the SSRWPC region are almost entirely agricultural, noted Mark Masters of the Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center, Albany State University.
![[Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2024-11-21, at Wiregrass Tech, Valdosta, Georgia]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-11-21--ssrwpc-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2024-11-21, at Wiregrass Tech, Valdosta, Georgia
This was at the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meeting at Valdosta Tech in Valdosta, Georgia, November 21, 2024. Continue reading
Update 2024-12-05:
Valdosta has published their results for Tuesday 2024-12-03.
Lower than ours at St. Augustine Road (380), but way higher at Gornto Road: 12,700, more than a dozen times the 1,000 alert limit.
There has been no rain.
Is there some other explanation than an intermittent sewage leak between St. Augustine Road and Gornto? -jsq
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities/river-stream-water-quality-data/nov-2024-overflow-testing-results
Down at the WaterGoat was the worst place for E. coli on Sugar Creek on Monday: more than three times the alert limit at 3,200 cfu/100 mL.
It is not all coming from Two Mile Branch: we also got bad results upstream.
![[Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-12-02--wq/fbmany.jpg)
Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?
Some of the colonies are faint, but they’re blue with bubbles, which is what we count: (43+28+25) * 100 / 3 = 3,200 cfu/100mL, which is more than three times the 1,000 alert limit. . Continue reading
Update 2024-12-09: Virtual public meeting about the minor proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 2024-12-09.
This is still my bottom line:
“If we’re not going to protect the Okefenokee,” said John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, “what are we going to protect?”
Joe Hopkins knows how to turn a pithy quote, but people are working on economic development in the counties surrounding the Okefenokee Swamp; see below.
Rose Schnabel, WUFT, November 16, 2024, Georgia’s biggest wildlife refuge is poised for expansion. Here’s why it matters in Florida.
![[What it means to Florida, Okefenokee NWR Expansion, Rose Schnabel, WUFT 2024-11-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-11-16--okefenokee-nwr-expansion/fbmany.jpg)
What it means to Florida, Okefenokee NWR Expansion, Rose Schnabel, WUFT 2024-11-14
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is the largest in Georgia. (Courtesy of Michael Lusk)
Florida’s water levels, rare plants and ancient fish are among the natural resources that could be protected by a proposed expansion to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge is within the Okefenokee Swamp: a blackwater bog almost half the size of Rhode Island that feeds the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed expansion, announced earlier this month, would extend the refuge’s borders by 22,000 acres. The deadline for public comment is Dec. 9.
Continue reading
Update 2024-11-08: Valdosta reports seven sewage spills, two ongoing 2024-11-08.
After many previously at the same location, this morning at 8:15 AM Richard A. Stalvey reported about 215 and 300 Knob Hill Road: “Heavy sewage spills at above addresses in Worthington Woods. I let the city know a few minutes ago.”
![[More Knob Hill Road sewage spills 2024-11-07, Three Mile Branch, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-11-07--knob-hill-spills-valdosta/fbmany.jpg)
More Knob Hill Road sewage spills 2024-11-07, Three Mile Branch, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA
This afternoon he sent this video of sewage spewing out of a manhole and running into a ditch which goes to Three Mile Branch in Langdale Park and on to the Withlacoochee River.
If you see or smell a spill, or a flooded road or other concern, please send it to us and report it on Valdosta Click-n-Fix.
https://wwals.net/report/
https://www.valdostacity.com/report-a-concern
Probably there are other spills due to the foot of rain on Valdosta last night.
Notice Continue reading
Update 2024-10-20: Clean Withlacoochee River 2024-10-18.
The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for E. coli.
The weather report is sunny and cool for the next week, although you never know what might blow in off the Gulf or the Atlantic.
Many national, state, and local parks are still closed, especially on rivers. We did not hold the Banks Lake Full Hunters Moon paddle Thursday, because Banks Lake is closed indefinitely due to unstable trees.
The Santa Fe River is in Action Stage upstream and in flood at TREPO, and the Lower Suwannee River is in Action Stage from Rock Bluff to Manatee Springs.
The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are all back to paddleable levels.
Happy paddling, motoring, fishing, or swimming this weekend, if you can find a place to put in and take out, and be careful.
Afterwards, there will be plenty of more opportunities for pleasant paddles and chainsaw cleanups.
![[Clean Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-17 Dirty Franks Creek 2024-10-16]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-10-17--wq/many.jpg)
Clean Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-17 Dirty Franks Creek 2024-10-16
No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida. by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), or in Georgia by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
John S. Quarterman tested three rivers on GA 122. Continue reading
Update 2024-10-18: Clean rivers, dirty Franks Creek 2024-10-17.
WWALS tester Heather Brasell got good water quality for Sunday at two upstream Alapaha River locations.
Valdosta posted, better late than never, its Wednesday results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84, and they were good.
There has been no rain for almost a week, and none is predicted for the next ten days.
The upper and lower Santa Fe River, the lower Suwannee River, and the Alapaha River at Statenville are still in Action Stage (or flood for the Santa Fe at TREPO).
Beware that many parks and public access points are still closed. Avoid getting in the way of ongoing recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Other than that, happy paddling, motoring, fishing, and swimming this week and the coming weekend.
![[Clean Alapaha River and no rain 2024-10-16 Valdosta results corroborate clean Withlacoochee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-10-13--wq/many.jpg)
Clean Alapaha River and no rain 2024-10-16 Valdosta results corroborate clean Withlacoochee River
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) updates its Sewage Spills Report on weekdays, and the same for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)’s Public Notice of Pollution (PNP), and neither have reported any new sewage spills since Friday. Continue reading