Category Archives: History

Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

Leave a reply

Cook County, Georgia, was ahead of everybody else in passing a datacenter moratorium, way back on December 2, 2024.

Commissioner Rowe moved to approve a moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations in Cook County. Commissioner Daughtrey seconded the motion; the motion carried unanimously.

[Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations --Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02]
Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

According to Cook County Manager Randall Lane, the motion itself is the entire text of the moratorium.

He wrote, “It was added to the Agenda by a Commissioner, and it was voted on unanimously to approve until lifted by the Board.”

Cook County is bounded on the west by the Little River, and on the east by the Withlacoochee River and its tributary the New River. Like everywhere else in the Suwannee River Basin, Cook County drinks from the Floridan Aquifer, for home, industry, and agriculture.

The county seat, Adel, on July 6, 2026, passed its own datacenter moratorium.

Adel’s moratorium is two pages compared to Cook County’s one sentence.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee River, the datacenter moratorium that Madison County, Florida, passed on July 23, 2026, is intermediate in length and complexity.

In between, Lowndes County, Georgia, has passed nothing: no moratorium, and no datacenter ordinance.

For much more about detacenters, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters Continue reading →

Datacenter Discussion @ Columbia County Commission 2026-07-23

Leave a reply

“Data Center Discussion” is the first item on the agenda for the Columbia County Commission meeting,

5:30 PM, Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the School Board Administrative Complex, 372 West Duval Street, Lake City, FL 32055

The board packet includes 215 pages of related materials, all from Datacenter supporters, except for one by 1000 Friends of Florida. Some of them try to conflate hyper-scale AI datacenters with search and cloud datacenters, while others argue that the growth in AI is inevitable so just go along to get along.

Hint: it’s not inevitable. It’s a bubble that will pop, more likely sooner than later.

[Datacenter Discussion @ Columbia County Commission, 5:30 PM, Thur4sday, 2026-07-23, 372 W Duval Street, Lake City, FL]
Datacenter Discussion @ Columbia County Commission, 5:30 PM, Thur4sday, 2026-07-23, 372 W Duval Street, Lake City, FL

There are several growth projection graphs, all of them wrong.

This one is clearly wrong at first glance, because its forward projection is linear: a straight line.

[Graph: Electricity Consumption at U.S. Data Centers is Expected to More Than Double by 2030 Total electricity consumption by U.S. data centers (terawatt-hours), 2026-01-01 --1000 Friends of Florida]
Graph: Electricity Consumption at U.S. Data Centers is Expected to More Than Double by 2030 Total electricity consumption by U.S. data centers (terawatt-hours), 2026-01-01 –1000 Friends of Florida
PDF

This graph is wrong because it projects a smooth curve. Sure, an exponential curve could be closer to right. See growth curves of the Internet, or of adoption of solar power, smartphones, or PCs.

But in all those historical examples, the exponential growth eventually looked more like an S-curve.

Also note that even if the amount of data produced does grow exponentially, that doesn’t mean that power use or datacenter numbers or sizes must grow like that.

The bubble will pop, sooner, or later, for one or both of two reasons:

  1. Investors will wise up that AI companies have grossly oversold the benefits of their products, and they are failing to produce profits
  2. Someone, probably in China, will leapfrog the current crude stack-computers-in-a-warehouse approach with faster, cheaper, and smaller methods.
Continue reading →

Lanier EMA marker 21, Alapaha River –Shirley Kokidko 2026-07-06

Leave a reply

Update 2026-07-15: Darsey Mill Branch Deadfall, Alapaha River 2026-07-15.

Shirley Kokidko says her picture is of, “Shawn replanting EMA 21 marker. Many of them are down or missing.”

[Shawn O'Connor replanting Lanier EMA marker 21, Alapaha River down from Berrien Beach, --Shirley Kokidko 2026-07-06]
Shawn O’Connor replanting Lanier EMA marker 21, Alapaha River down from Berrien Beach, –Shirley Kokidko 2026-07-06

That’s Shawn O’Connor on the Alapaha River, July 8, 2026.

https://wwals.net/?p=70657

The sign is supposed to say 21 and the telephone number for Lanier County EMA, but half of it is broken off.

Here’s a video Shirley took:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1287225203487543

https://www.instagram.com/p/Da0n2ECoyII/

https://youtu.be/E6N4g-Wfeso Continue reading →

Some history and data on the Suwannee River near Gibson Park –Byron Herder 2026-06-25

Byron Herder, who owns the Alapaha River Rise, just upstream from the Alapaha River on the Suwannee River, sent this:

I don’t think I can make it Saturday. Here is some history and data on the area of put in near Gibson. Was the capitol of Florida for thousands of years before Spanish contact. Largest pyramids in Florida. Was site of San Ugustin de Urihica for Spanish missionaries. First large battle in what is now US history called Napituca.

What’s happening Saturday is Gibson County Park to SRSP Paddle, Suwannee River 2026-06-27.

https://wwals.net/?p=70541

[Some history and data on the Suwannee River near Gibson Park --Byron Herder 2026-06-25]
Some history and data on the Suwannee River near Gibson Park –Byron Herder 2026-06-25

Here are the images Byron sent, with sources for those that I could find. Continue reading →

Pictures: Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20

More than 20 boatloads of new paddlers went on Reed Bingham State Park Lake, in Juneteenth, June 20, 2026, by Macedonia Community Foundation and WWALS.

Thanks to Fannie Marie Gibbs for the idea. She was indisposed and could not come. Her grandchildren Andre and Aisha Gibbs and friends and relatives brought the food and the games for children.

WWALS supplied the boats and the stunt adults to paddle with children whose parents don’t want to get in a boat: Andrew Reinlieb, Gretchen Quarterman, Scotti Jay, and John S. Quarterman, plus Kimberly Godden Tanner signing people in.

[Juneteenth with new boaters, Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20, And food!]
Juneteenth with new boaters, Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20, And food!

Here are some video snippets:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/902855629498139/

https://youtu.be/_APnkogCgcg

People seemed to like it. I took the first boatload out soon after the 11 AM start time, and more boatloads of new paddlers were still going well after the nominal 3 PM end time, even after 4 PM.

Georgia State Parks raised the parking rate from to $10. Sorry about that. Other than that, there was no charge.

June 19, 2027, is on a Saturday, so that’s the most likely next time for this Juneteenth celebration.

If you want to know about Juneteenth the event, try this:

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/moments/juneteenth Continue reading →

Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

Published with permission, here is what Dr. Bob Knight ferreted out from USGS and the WMDs about groundwater pumping.

You’d think they would publish this information, but since they didn’t, WWALS is.

These slides (PowerPoint or PDF) don’t say anything about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the WMD and JEA plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin, but this is the groundwater background to WFNF.

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

[Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse --Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09]
Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

He sent these slides to various environmentalists on May 9, 2026, with this note. I asked him later in person if he minded WWALS publishing. He said go ahead.

All

Attached is an updated summary of Florida groundwater wells, permits, and reported extraction quantities from the Floridan aquifer. All data were provided by the water management districts and the USGS. But the summaries of those reams of data are my work and may not be complete and accurate in all cases. Surprisingly, the WMDs have differing data bases and few detailed summaries of these data. For now, I believe these may be the best data summaries out there. Historically (up to 2015) Richard Marella formerly with USGS reported a lot of Floridan aquifer detailed/summary data every five years. That important contribution ended in 2015 and there is no sign that it will be picked back up by the state or the USGS.

The inconvenient truth is that all groundwater extractions reduce spring flows and that data analysis indicates that the ratio is almost one to one. Measured spring flow reductions closely mirror these reported pumping totals and differ widely from groundwater flow model estimates.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Bob

Continue reading →

WWALS at Florida Folk Festival, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park 2026-05-22

Join us on the banks of the Suwannee River on Memorial Day Weekend for Florida Folk Festival.

The festival is a three-day celebration of the music, dance, stories, crafts and food that make Florida unique.

Come talk to us about water quality testing, water reservations, Water First North Florida (WFNF), sewage, trash, detention centers, datacenters, and other advocacy as well as outings and water trails.

And of course our own WWALS River Revue, coming up Saturday, September 12, 2026, including the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, at the 4-H Camp in Lake Park, Georgia.

https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2026/

When: 10 AM, Friday, May 22, through Sunday, May 24, 2026

Put In: Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, 11016 Lillian Saunders Drive, White Springs, FL 32096.

GPS: 30.332884, -82.769513

[Florida Folk Festival, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center SP, White Springs, Florida, May 22-24, 2026]
Florida Folk Festival, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center SP, White Springs, Florida, May 22-24, 2026

Continue reading →

Refilling the aquifer with wastewater is a problem –Tana Silva 2026-04-19

Like Tana Silva, you can write a letter to the editor of your local, state, or national newspaper, or ask your local radio or TV station to interview you, or post on social media.

Better yet, call or write your elected and appointed officials, and sign the petition:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Tana Silva, Alachua Chronicle, April 19, 2026, Letter: Refilling the aquifer with wastewater is a problem, not a solution
https://alachuachronicle.com/letter-refilling-the-aquifer-with-wastewater-is-a-problem-not-a-solution/

April 19, 2026

Letter to the editor

[Refilling the aquifer with wastewater is a problem (WFNF) --Tana Silva 2026-04-19]
Refilling the aquifer with wastewater is a problem (WFNF) –Tana Silva 2026-04-19

Until the 1970s, Jacksonville pumped sewage straight into the St. Johns River and allowed dumping industrial waste there as well. The mayor elected in 1967, local advocates, and the Clean Water Act of 1972 helped to at least send wastewater to treatment plants before releasing it to the river. That practice, too, is restricted by state law now, but raising springwater levels through recharging projects is another goal in state law that opens a path to reusing wastewater, a risky and irreversible choice.

Jacksonville, the largest city, water consumer, and wastewater producer in northern Florida, is again looking to offload its wastewater, this time far to the west, in rural springs country.

Local residents and governments and the 12-county regional planning council that includes Alachua County say no: Continue reading →

Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20

Update 2026-06-23: Pictures: Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20.

Update June 19, 2026: We are aware of the weather predictions.
If it’s raining Saturday, we will all party under the pavilion.
When there are breaks in the rain, paddling will happen.

Hahira, GA, April 21, 2026 — “Back again at the beach pavilion on the Little River at Reed Bingham State Park, it’s Juneteenth with boats! WWALS will provide stunt adults to paddle with children whose parents don’t want to get in a boat,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

WWALS will provide boats for new paddlers at a gathering of people from Brooks, Cook, Lowndes, and Tift Counties and beyond in celebration of Juneteenth.

Food and activities for children will be provided by Fannie Gibbs and Macedonia Community Foundation.

When: 11 AM – 3 PM, Saturday, June 20, 2026

Put In: Reed Bingham State Park Beach, 542 Reed Bingham Rd, Adel, GA 31620. Take I-75 Exit 39, turn west on GA 37, right on Evergreen Church Road (CR 99), left on Reed Bingham SP Road (CR 221), in through the gate and across the dam, and the beach is on your right, in Colquitt County.

GPS: 31.162563, -83.548506

[Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park, Beach Pavilion, Little River 2026-06-20]
Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park, Beach Pavilion, Little River 2026-06-20

Continue reading →

WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat 2026-03-23

We aim to clear a wide and deep enough passage for canoes, kayaks, and jon boats. Sometimes we will clear more if it’s obviously going to just fall back into the passage, or if it will be a problem at a different water level. But we remove only what we must.

We leave most of the rest as habitat for fish, turtles, otters, birds, and other wildlife. Shade, eddies, pools, and general variation in river flow result; all good for wildlife. You may notice that experienced fishers often cast near woody debris for this reason.

[WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat, 2026-03-23]
WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat, 2026-03-23

As a reminder, to join WWALS on any river outing you must listen to the safety lecture and sign the insurance waiver. Every person in a boat, no matter their age or size or experience, must wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD).

Here are more than 50 examples of WWALS chainsaw cleanups:

https://wwals.net/outings/chainsaw-cleanups/

You can see plenty of habitat beyond where TJ is sawing in this picture. Continue reading →