Category Archives: PR

Press Release

WWALS River Revue with Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2026-09-12

Leave a reply

Join us at the 4-H Club in Lake Park, Georgia, for the WWALS River Revue sit-down dinner with speakers from Georgia and Florida, music from Finalists in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and Headliner Joe First, last year’s winner. Plus a silent auction, online and in person.

If you like what we’re doing, with water quality testing and water trails and river and lake outings and hikes and cleanups and chainsaw cleanups, come on down and support WWALS and have some fun! We support rights to clean water and solar power in appropriate places, and we oppose unnecessary mines and datacenters, detention centers, and Jacksonville treated wastewater into the Suwannee Basin (Water First North Florida or WFNF).

[WWALS River Revue, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 4-H Club, Lake Park, GA, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026]
WWALS River Revue, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 4-H Club, Lake Park, GA, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Tickets: $65 each:

https://app.betterunite.com/wwals-wwalsriverrevue2026

MC Tim Carroll, a former trumpet player and Valdosta City Council District 5, will introduce the speakers, the Headliner, and the Judges, Anna Stange (Madison, FL), Tony Buzzella (Lake City, FL), and Norm McDonald (Live Oak, FL).

Songwriters, don’t wait until August 12 to send in your song! It can be about any river, creek, spring, sink, swamp, or pond in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin or Estuary, or underground water such as the Floridan Aquifer. Continue reading →

Song Submissions open April 1st –Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2026-03-31

Hahira, Georgia, March 31, 2026 — Send in your song starting April First, no fooling! You can send songs until August 12, 2026, for the Ninth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

[Entry Form Banner 2026 SuwRK Songwriting Contest Trim]

Entry form: https://forms.gle/fihLNVC2xbD1SXBB6

Finalists will be selected by the organizing committee, and will perform their songs at the WWALS River Revue sit-down fundraising dinner. That will be Saturday, September 12, 2026, 5-9 PM, at the Lowndes County 4-H Club, 6100 4-H Club Road in Lake Park, Georgia 31636.

There will be food, drink, speakers from Georgia and Florida, a silent auction, and the music of a headliner before the Songwriting Contest Finalists play.

“More fun than you can have anywhere off the water!” said WWALS Board member Scotti Jay.

We like songs about issues, nature, history, fun on the water, or community, or whatever tickles your fancy.

For the first time we’re including the Santa Fe River Basin. We used to exclude that Basin, because Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) had a songwriting contest for it. OSFR is not doing that anymore.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, who invented that contest, will do one next year by Rum 138, her outfitter. But she recommends WWALS include the Santa Fe Basin in our Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, “As a result of JEA wanting to send treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin, give us your best songs.”

If you don’t know what she’s referring to, see: Continue reading →

Radio: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper on talk921.com 2026-03-05

Join us on the radio, talk921.com, at 8 AM tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 5, 2026, to hear about the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper this Saturday.

https://wwals.net/?p=69525

[Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper

Here’s a facebook event to remind you:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2273100159762397/

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the generous grant that makes this paddle free for everyone. Thanks to Paul Deloach and The Langdale Company for river access. Thanks to Paul Batts and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority for shuttle vans. Thanks to Steve Miller for his 4-wheeler for the takeout. And thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this paddle.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman may also talk about other current topics such as: Continue reading →

Radio: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper on talk921.com 2026-03-05

Join us on the radio, talk921.com, at 8 AM tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 5, 2026, to hear about the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper this Saturday.

https://wwals.net/?p=69525

[Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper

Here’s a facebook event to remind you:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2273100159762397/

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the generous grant that makes this paddle free for everyone. Thanks to Paul Deloach and The Langdale Company for river access. Thanks to Paul Batts and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority for shuttle vans. Thanks to Steve Miller for his 4-wheeler for the takeout. And thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this paddle.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman may also talk about other current topics such as: Continue reading →

Datacenter water use and Irwin County Planning Commission and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16

In an interview yesterday by WALB TV:

Meanwhile, WWALS Watershed Coalition Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said his own research raises concerns about what large-scale data centers could mean for local water resources and river health.

[Datacenter water use, Irwin County Planning Commission, and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16]
Datacenter water use, Irwin County Planning Commission, and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16

Quarterman said data centers typically require significant water for cooling and large amounts of electricity to operate, which he argues can indirectly affect water resources through increased demand on power generation. He said the Suwannee River Basin and surrounding aquifer systems are closely connected, meaning impacts to surface water can also affect drinking water supplies, agriculture and recreation.

[Whirlpak 2026-02-26 --WALB TV]
Whirlpak 2026-02-26 –WALB TV

Quarterman adds that water levels in some rivers and springs are already low during drought conditions, and he said he worries additional industrial demand could place further strain on natural resources.

See also the datacenter bills in Datacenter proposed, Irwinville, near Alapaha River 2026-02-26.

https://wwals.net/?p=69394

Taylor Lewis, WALB News 10, February 16, 2026, updated 6 PM, 2nd South Georgia county moves to dissolve industrial authority: What it could mean for future data center builds. Continue reading →

Volunteering with WWALS 2025-11-21

Why would you volunteer with WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS)? How can you help the Suwannee Riverkeeper keep the waters clean in the 10,000 square miles of the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida?

[Wide]
Suwannee River Basin

Volunteering isn’t just about giving your time. It’s about making a meaningful impact on your local environment. WWALS is dedicated to preserving the waters of the Suwannee River Basin, advocating for clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water. See wwals.net

By stepping up as a volunteer, you become part of this collective effort: be it paddling an outreach event, testing water quality, writing a grant, or promoting awareness. You’re helping safeguard our local rivers, aquifers, and wetlands — a cause that aligns well with your love for kayaking, chasing waterfalls and sunsets.

How to Get Involved

WWALS offers a variety of committees that handle many of the organization’s activities. These committees are the heart of volunteering and most are open to non-board members.

Here’s how you can get started:

Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek –WCTV 2025-11-20

Update 2025-11-25: Clean Withlacoochee River downstream 2025-11-22.

The WCTV report includes:

Earlier this year, the North Florida Rivers Task Force met with Valdosta leaders about several spills along the same water way.

One riverkeeper said he wants to see more improvements.

[Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek, Suwannee Riverkeeper --WCTV 2025-11-20]
Valdosta sewage spill into Sugar Creek, Suwannee Riverkeeper –WCTV 2025-11-20

“The positive side is they seem to be getting smaller, so that is good,” executive director of [WWALS Watershed Coalition] John Quarterman said. “Valdosta utilities fixed it pretty quick and they put out a press release as well, in less than 24 hours, so that is good. Of course, nobody is going to be happy until there are no more sewage spills.”

See Mishalynn Brown, WCTV, Nov. 20, 2025, Sewage spill reported in Sugar Creek, Valdosta utilities says: The utilities department advised that residents avoid the area.

Thanks to WCTV producer Michael Clark for interviewing me via zoom. I must work on my halo.

The WCTV report starts by reviewing the Valdosta press release, which Continue reading →

WWALS Day of Giving #GAGIVES 2025

This is a nonprofit fundraiser supporting WWALS Watershed Coalition Inc.

It’s for the whole month of November 2025.

You can donate here:
https://www.gagives.org/story/WWALS-GAGIVES-2025

[WWALS Day of Giving, #GAGIVES 2025, All Month, November 2025]

WWALS Mission

WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

Advocacy

Many other organizations already promote paddling, swimming, fishing, birding, and other water-related activities hereabouts, as does WWALS for fun and education. WWALS exists to assist positive changes and to resist invasive problems, using strategies such as environmental monitoring and tactics such as outings and events in that advocacy.

Conservation

Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper in Quitman Free Press 2025-09-17

Thanks to Dr. Horne for writing and sending this article. We all do what we can.

September 17, 2025, Quitman Free Press, Page 3

Doc’s Special Messages
By: Dr. R. Marie Horne MD

Quintessential Mr. Quarterman

Some South Georgians have made numerous contributions to the South Georgia area and have rendered enormous contributions to national and global society as well. One of these South Georgia notables is Mr. John S. Quarterman, a longtime South Georgia resident who has a perpetual passion for navigating activism in protection of waterways, specifically those which impact area communities, as the WWALS Watershed Coalition’s Suwannee Riverkeeper, who takes seriously and enthusiastically his stewardship over protecting the Suwannee River Basin in South Georgia and North Florida.

[Quitman Free Press, 2025-09-17 --Dr. Marie Horne]
Quitman Free Press, 2025-09-17 –Dr. Marie Horne

Having hailed from the Bemiss Community in Lowndes County Georgia, near Valdosta, studied at Harvard, authored in 1990, the book entitled, “The Matrix, Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide,” Mr. John Quarterman became the “longest serving cartographer of the Internet, a designation “dubbed by Mappa Mundi Magazine” in 1990.

Continue reading →

Radio: WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Scott James Radio 2025-09-04

In which Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson revealed that the City of Valdosta plans to double the size of the catch basin at its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Also this morning on talk921.com, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman complimented the city on finally fixing one of the chronically-sewage-spewing manholes at Wainwright Drive on One Mile Branch.

Come on down this Saturday evening, 5-9 PM, for WWALS River Revue and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest at the Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, Georgia.

That’s $65 per person. There are also a few complimentary Educator tickets and $25 Musician tickets available if you contact us quickly.

[WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Scott James Radio, talk921.com 2025-09-04]
WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Scott James Radio, talk921.com 2025-09-04

Here are WWALS videos of the main discussions on the radio this morning, followed by a WWALS video playlist. I’ve added some links to writeups on the topics discussed. And the playlist starts slightly out of order with the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Continue reading →