Wes James brought up a good point last night on the radio. Songwriters, you do not have to sing or play your song, although you do have to be on stage doing something related to the song. So yes, you can get your favorite musicians to sing and play for you, but you do have to be present to win.
Remember to send in your song:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-21–songwriting Continue reading
Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.
Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Wes James asked some questions I hadn’t thought of about the BIG Little River Paddle Race last night on WAAC 92.9 FM radio, about boat size, for example.
Remember to get your tickets, and if you want to you can rent a boat,
both online in advance:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr
We are watching the weather, as discussed in the first video. While today the prediction is for thunderstorms Saturday, it’s also for those not starting until afternoon, when everybody will be off the river anyway, in which case no problem. Also, we’ve frequently seen such predictions move a day or so later, so we shall see. So far, so good.
Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.
Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Adel, Georgia, April 19, 2021 — Southwell Medical of Tifton and Adel has become a sponsor of the annual WWALS and FORB race and leisurely paddle three miles down the scenic blackwater Little River in Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia.
“Spaces are going fast, with only four heats of ten people, so sign up soon!” said event mastermind Bret Wagenhorst, an eye doctor in Tifton, GA, and a charter board member of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS). “First Prize is $100, and another $200 if the winner beats the record.”
All tickets are $30 online in advance, and you can also rent a boat online from the park and pick it up at the start at Red Roberts Landing. For tickets, boats, and all event details, including sponsor opportunities, see:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr/
Photo: Phil Hubbard, of
Dan Phillips placing second in BLRPR 2018.
You could win in any of a dozen categories, or up to $300 if you Continue reading
WWALS Trails Committee Chair Dan Phillips planted the signs for Reed Bingham State Park Thursday, both the road signs for Red Roberts Landing, and the at-water signs for there and for the boat ramps on both sides of RBSP Lake.
![[Red Roberts Landing, Reed Bingham State Park Lake]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-16--rbsp-signs-planted/many.jpg)
Red Roberts Landing, Reed Bingham State Park Lake
Red Roberts Landing is where the BIG Little River Paddle Race will start this Saturday morning. Tickets are going fast, and are only available online, so get your tickets now. Continue reading
Update 2021-04-23: Clean Little River and Withlacoochee River clean again 2021-04-22.
Boring can be good, if it’s a clean Withlacoochee River, especially for the fourth week in a row.
And clean is the news from Valdosta for upstream Wednesday, from WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach for Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps Thursday, from Madison Health for State Line, Sullivan Launch, and FL 6, also for Thursday, and from WWALS tester Gus Cleary for Cleary Bluff, between Allen Ramp and the Suwannee River, again for Thursday.
![[Clean chart, plates, steps, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-15--wq/many.jpg)
Clean chart, plates, steps, Swim Guide
Very little rain fell by Thursday, or today, on the Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, or Suwannee Rivers. Which with these test results mean clean as near as we can tell.
So happy boating, swimming, and fishing! Continue reading
Kinard Bridge Road Landing on the Little River is not the most difficult river access in the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (that’s US 84 Landing on the Withlacoochee River). But this one is a close second.
This is at 2640 Kinard Bridge Rd, Lenox, GA 31637, in Cook County. From I-75 exit 49, go west on Central Avenue, which becomes Kinard Bridge Road, 3 miles to bridge.
You have to park on the side of the road and drag your boat down a steep highway slope to the river on the north (upstream) side of the road. Continue reading
Update 2021-04-16: Clean again: Withlacoochee River 2021-04-15.
No spills, little rain, clean rivers!
![[Chart, clean plates, fruit, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-08--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, clean plates, fruit, Swim Guide
Samples by WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps came out about as clean as you can get, and actually zero at State Line. Also zero at Cleary Bluff downstream of Allen Ramp by Gus Cleary.
And there was little rain yesterday, and none so far today.
So happy boating, fishing, and swimming this weekend!
But what is this fruit? Continue reading
Update 2022-08-23: 2021 ANNUAL REPORT, Lowndes County Impaired Streams Monitoring 2021-04-07.
Some good news: “Low level mercury levels are well below acute standards at all sampling points.”
Some bad news: “fecal coliform sampling results indicated all sampling points exceeded water quality standards for the June and September sampling events.”
![[Cover, Franks Creek and Mud Creek]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-04-07--loco-water-quality-report/many.jpg)
Cover, Franks Creek and Mud Creek
That’s in the 2020 ANNUAL REPORT from Lovell Enginnering Associates to Lowndes County for its Impaired Streams Monitoring project that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) required the county to do.
Thanks to Lowndes County Engineer Mike Fletcher for sending this report in response to a WWALS open records request. I don’t know why Lowndes County did not publish this report themselves. Maybe they did, and I just haven’t found it online yet.
Working through this data, so far it seems that Franks Creek, which comes down west of Hahira to the Little River, shows spikes in Fecal coliform after rains. Those spikes usually occur downstream of Hahira’s wastewater treatment facility. Continue reading
Pick from a pair of floating Georgia Rivers Alive cleanups for Earth Day, and bring your boat!
Gretchen Quarterman will lead a floating cleanup on Joree Millpond in Valdosta, Georgia, starting at 913 Millpond Road (PDF flyer for Joree Millpond). You can return whenever you want to, but we expect this boating cleanup to last about two hours. If you have a jon boat and are willing to take a volunteer onto the pond to remove litter, please contact either Gretchen Quarterman (229-834-1945) or Austin Fiveash (229-563-6262). You can also participate in your kayak or canoe. Volunteers will remove litter from along the edge of the pond and from near the spillway. The City of Valdosta is providing a large trash receptacle at the site, thanks to Valdosta Stormwater Manager Angela Bray.
Bobby McKenzie will lead a paddle cleanup from Sugar Creek behind the Salty Snapper off of Gornto Road, down the Withlacoochee River, and a short hop up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp. That’s less than 4 river miles, and even with stops for trash collection should take less than three hours. We will leave the bagged trash at that destination, where Lowndes County Public Works will pick it up Monday.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 12:30 PM, Saturday, April 17, 2021
Millpond put in:
913 Millpond Road, Valdosta, GA, Take Country Club Drive to Mill Pond Road. Turn right and 913 is last house on left before right-only exit onto Jerry Jones Road.
Drop your boat at the water, then park near the street.
Millpond GPS: 30.867375, -83.309558
River paddle put in:
The Salty Snapper parking lot, 1405 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA.
Go to the back of the parking lot to drop off your boat at Sugar Creek.
Sugar Creek GPS:
30.861785, -83.318793
River Paddle Take Out:
Troupville Boat Ramp,
9664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602.
Go west on St. Augustine Road across I-75 (exit 18) and cross the Withlacoochee River.
At the light for Val Tech Road, turn left, which takes you down to the boat ramp.
Troupville Boat Ramp GPS:
30.851842, -83.346536.
Safety: All volunteers must sign a WWALS liability release, which makes WWALS insurance cover them, and must wear a life jacket at all times while in boats.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, snaks, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags, and good boots.
Free: This outing is free to everyone, because it is a cleanup.
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
![[Joree Millpond, trash, Withlacoochee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-17--cleanup-joree-millpond-sugar-creek-withlacoochee-river-troupville-boat-ramp/many.jpg)
Joree Millpond, trash, Withlacoochee River
Photos:
Russell Allen McBride.
Update 2022-02-21: For updates on the Valdosta trash situation, see https://wwals.net/issues/trash/.
Turns out the City of Valdosta already has a trash trap on one creek. It’s next to Baytree Road, upstream from Lake Sheri, on what I’m calling Sheri Run. The creek ends up in the Withlacoochee River, just upstream from the I-75 bridge. But, because of the trash trap, most of the trash does not reach Lake Sheri or the river, because it gets caught after it comes down from Valdosta Mall and all the restaurants and stores on St. Augustine Road.
![[Outfall of trash trap, 10:16:37, 30.8471573, -83.3288788]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-12-08--sheri-run-lake-sheri/20201208_101636.jpg)
Outfall of trash trap, 10:16:37, 30.8471573, -83.3288788
![[Kinard Bridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-21--kinard-bridge-landing/20200921_184717.jpg)