Category Archives: Quantity

GA-EPD found Sabal Trail right of way violation 2016-12-14

Georgia EPD found Sabal Trail out of its right of way at Okapilco Creek in Brooks County, and an enforcement action is being prepared. This was while investigating the possible wetlands and water violations reported by WWALS. So reports do sometimes work, although sometimes for violations different than the ones you thought you were reporting.

Update 21 Dec 2016: Please report potential violations.

This afternoon GA-EPD called me to provide a preliminary report on what they found when they inspected the possible violations WWALS reported December 8th 2016. The call came from Tommy W. Fowler, Program Manager, Southwest District, Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD). These are my notes on what he said, in order from the WWALS complaint filing: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail at Okapilco Creek 2016-12-06

Update 2016-12-08: Complaint filed with GA-EPD, USACE, FERC: PDF.

Movie: Red pipe, Okapilco Creek, Little Creek, Coffee Road, w. of GA 333, 30.9182490, -83.5904850 We didn’t see any silt fences where Sabal Trail has red pipe laid out across Okapilco Creek and Little Creek, north of Coffee Road, west of GA 333 in Brooks County, Georgia, between Barwick and Barney.

Red pipe, Okapilco Creek Middle Bridge, Sabal Trail,
Red pipe, Okapilco Creek Middle Bridge, Sabal Trail, 30.9174160, -83.5892520

Continue reading →

Videos, Valdosta Wastewater and Flood Prevention 2016-10-27

The crowd was very attentive to every word about wastewater and flood prevention, with officials from the City of Valdosta presenting in the first of a new quarterly WWALS speaker series. If you didn’t come, you can see and hear in these videos Henry Hicks about wastewater, Emily Davenport about flood prevention, Tim Carroll about solar power, and Sementha Mathews about how to get more information from Valdosta. WWALS Treasurer and acting Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman opened and closed the meeting.

Each talk had many small but important stories, so we will probably blog more posts about those. Meanwhile, here are the videos: see for yourself! Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River with water @ GA 122, 2016-09-07

It does rain some times. Back in September at Hagan Bridge on GA 122 over the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County, Georgia on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail. The USGS gage at Skipper Bridge read 8 feet (128.5 NAVD).

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Upstream 31.0135720, -83.3016070

Upstream

Downstream 31.0132885, -83.3015747

Continue reading →

Suwannee River Beach @ Spirit of Suwannee Music Park 2016-10-16

Stairs 30.4059372, -82.9478073 Very dry, and this was a week ago Sunday, with a bit more than 23 feet on the Nobles Ferry USGS gage. Surprisingly, the water’s not much lower now according to that gage.

Somebody asked us at Suwannee River Roots Revival: why is the Suwannee River so low? He was from the Atlantic coast of Florida, where they just had hurricanes, and didn’t realize: none of that rain fell upstream inland in Florida and Georgia up to the Okefenokee Swamp.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla and GA coastal river water councils in Dublin, GA 2016-11-17

Next month, once again the upper Suwannee that drains into the Gulf gets pulled into a meeting with coastal Georgia Water Planning Councils. This is the meeting that got delayed by hurricane.

GA DNR, Bulletin, 18 October 2016,

Joint Regional Water Planning Council Meeting NEW DATE: November 17, 2016

Georgia Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 10/18/2016 09:18 AM EDT

NOTICE:

JOINT REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING

Announcement Date: October 18, 2016

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:

A Joint Council Meeting will be held for the Altamaha, Coastal Georgia, Middle Ocmulgee, Savannah-Upper Ogeechee, Suwannee-Satilla and Upper Oconee Regional Water Planning Councils at the following date, time, and location:

Continue reading →

Valdosta wastewater and flood prevention public meeting by WWALS 2016-10-27

New WWTP, 30.8327808, -83.3283234 Update 2016-10-23: Seen from the air.

Update 2016-10-19: PDF flyer.

Come hear about the $60 million in wastewater fixes Valdosta just finished, what remains to be done, and what they’re doing about flood prevention for the entire Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida. You can ask questions in this first of a new WWALS Quarterly Speaker Series, and the people organizing this work will be there to answer:

  • Henry Hicks, Utilities Director, about wastewater
  • Emily Davenport, Assistant Director of Engineering, about flooding, and
  • Tim Carroll, Valdosta City Council, about solar power for utilities.

When: 6PM Thursday October 27th

Where: Valdosta City Hall Annex
Multipurpose Room
300 N Lee St.
Valdosta, GA 31601 Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla and GA coastal river water councils in Dublin, GA 2016-10-06

Update 2016-10-07: Postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. New date not yet known.

Next week, once again the upper Suwannee that drains into the Gulf gets pulled into a meeting with coastal Georgia Water Planning Councils.

GA DNR, Bulletin, 27 September 2016, Statewide Water Plan – Joint Council Meeting #2 Agenda – October 6 / Dublin, GA,

Joint Council Meeting #2 — Eastern Councils
Thursday, October 6, 2016

Dubose Porter Center
Oconee Fall Line Technical College
560 Pinehill Road
Dublin, GA 31021

Agenda Continue reading →

Bill Gates, Suwannee Farms, Lakeland Sands, examples from the air 2016-06-21

Here are a few pictures of some Bill Gates properties from the MIDS Southwings flyover of June 21st, 2016, including Lakeland Sands 208th St. to Suwannee Farms 30.0667640, -82.9828050 Suwannee Farms which we previously discovered a Gates subsidiary had bought.

Notice how close these lands are to the Suwannee River or the Withlacoochee River and Madison Blue Spring. Some of them look freshly cleared. Many of them are probably also in Floridan Aquifer recharge zones. There is more identification work to be done. And we have more aerial pictures (and video).

See also the WWALS web page on Corporate Agriculture.

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Continue reading →

Chris Beckham broadcasting on emergency power 2016-09-02

We talked about outings at 7:30 as scheduled, although it’s not clear who could hear. The whole St Augustine Rd area is dark, including Black Crow’s online streaming. We’re scheduling another time for next week. And thanks to Chris and the crew who camped out in the station all night!

Chris Beckham asked if we would reschedule the Suwannee River outing. Yep, delayed until Monday due to weather.

Here are Continue reading →