Category Archives: River

Sinkhole at Sabal Trail path through SRSP, Hamilton Co., FL 2017-10-03

Update 2017-10-05: Press Release.

Yesterday we found a fresh sinkhole within 60 feet of Sabal Trail’s pipe under Suwannee River State Park (SRSP), between the Suwannee River and the drill site in Hamilton County.

These pictures are by Christopher J. Mericle. He is a WWALS member, and also the Chair of the North Florida Working Group of the Suwannee-St. Johns Group, Sierra Club Florida.

You can see the sinkhole extends underground to the south, on the far side in this picture, towards the pipeline: Continue reading →

SWIM Plan Meeting, Live Oak 2017-10-03

Nitrates, agriculture, and silviculture were already in, and sewage, phosphate mines, and the Floridan Aquifer got added yesterday afternoon in Live Oak in public comments on updates to SRWMD’s SWIM Plans, plus new SRWMD E.D. Hugh Thomas spoke.

Thanks to presenter Tom Singleton, the slides presented are on the WWALS website. Here are a few notes and pictures.

Floridan Aquifer

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Sierra Club Florida noted Continue reading →

Videos: Not so Fast, Sabal Trail: Suwannee and Flint Riverkeepers in Live Oak 2017-09-07

Thursday before the storm, Suwannee and Flint Riverkeepers updated on Sabal Trail in Live Oak, about the recent court win against FERC, plus LNG export.

WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman explained Continue reading →

Okefenokee Suwannee River Outing 2017-12-10

Update 2018-02-10: Pictures of the outings.

Update 2017-12-12: And the winner is…

Update 2017-12-11: We drew for the kayak (stay tuned for the winner), and here are some pictures.

Update 2017-12-07: Also last chance to get a kayak raffle ticket before we draw the winner at the beginning of the outing.

Paddle upstream to Minnie’s Lake and back to see the Okefenokee Swamp after the West Mims Fire. Gators, birds, and fish!

When: 9AM, Sunday, December 10, 2017

Put In: Stephen C. Foster State Park, Fargo, GA

GPS: 30.8282, -82.361

Take Out: Same as Put In. This location is on the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail (SRWT) and the path is on the Okefenokee Wilderness Area Canoe Trails.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is Free! And we recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

On our previous Okefenokee outing we went to Billys Island.

Duration: Continue reading →

Florida Public Notice of Pollution

While Alabama is thinking about it (actually, Alabama already does it) and Georgia requires an open records request with slow response (since 2018-12-21 Georgia now posts spills),

Florida has already required and is publishing timely notices of spills, and more recently a map of the most recent 30 days of spills!

Among them, surprisingly few in the Suwannee River Basin from Hurricane Irma: three in Baker and Bradford Counties from The Chemours Company, and two from Camp Blanding.

Follow this link for the interactive google map.

Daniel H. Thompson, Lexology, 4 May 2017, Florida Legislature Passes “Public Notice of Pollution Act” Continue reading →

WWALS @ Suwannee Roots Revival 2017-10-12-15

Back for a second year at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, WWALS at Suwannee River Roots Revival, this time with the Suwannee Riverkeeper banner, Way Down Upon the Suwannee River at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SoSMP). We can always use help at the booth, so contact us if you want to help talk to people about paddle outings, water trails, sewage spills, fertilizer runoff, coal ash, phosphate mines, pipelines, holding polluters accountable, and fishable, swimmable drinkable waters throughout the Suwannee River Basin.

When: Thursday through Sunday, October 12-15, 2017

Where: Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, Florida

Event: facebook, meetup.

Questions and the Suwannee Riverkeeper banner at Suwannee Spring Revival 2017-03-23.

Last year was the first time WWALS had a booth at a SoSMP event, and was the first year for the Roots Revival. It’s true most of the attendees saw it as Continue reading →

Quitman, GA, WPCP spill 2017-09-11

Quitman, Georgia also spilled sewage during Tropical Storm Irma, next to Okapilco Creek, which runs into the Withlacoochee River, then the Suwannee River.

According to John Thursby with Quitman Utilities, the lift station at Quitman’s main wastewater treatment plant lost power, and Continue reading →

Lowndes County Force Main Spill 2017-09-23

Lowndes County (not Valdosta) spilled sewage Saturday that may have reached the Withlacoochee River. The county also had “several” lift station spills during Tropical Storm Irma.

Google map, Val Tech Road.

After tonight’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, I asked Utilities Director Steve Stalvey whether the county had spilled any sewage this month. He said yes, Saturday (September 23, 2017), about 25,000 gallons from the force main on Val Tech Road. He said it was due to Continue reading →

Public meeting, Live Oak, Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) 2017-10-03

When: 1:30PM to 4:30PM, Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Where: SRWMD Office, 9225 County Road 49, Live Oak, Florida

Event: Suwannee River SWIM Plan public meeting

Received this morning:

Suwannee River and Coastal Rivers SWIM Plan interested parties:

In 2016, the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) received funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop consolidated updates to the Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Rivers Alive Cleanup and Paddle Outing, Alapaha River 2017-10-01

Rescheduled due to Tropical Storm Irma: a combination Rivers Alive and Waterkeeper Alliance Cleanup on the enchanting Alapaha River at Pafford Landing, Lakeland, Georgia, plus optional upstream and back paddle afterwards.

When: 2PM, Sunday, October 1, 2017

Where: Pafford’s Landing, MILE 71.73, east of Lakeland, GA, south side of GA 122, into the woods, west side of Alapaha River, Lanier County

GPS: 31.043011, -83.042564

More pictures of Pafford’s Landing and trash to be picked up here.