Category Archives: River

Cherry Creek & Stillhouse Branch, Lift Station, Sinks, Withlacoochee River

Why should anyone downstream care about an obscure creek north of Valdosta? Because it runs past sinkholes that leak into the Floridan Aquifer, into the Withlacoochee River, then into the Suwannee River, then into the Gulf of Mexico, going by all seven of the downstream Florida counties that passed resolutions asking the state of Florida to do something about Valdosta wastewater, not to mention neighborhoods and wetlands closer to the recent Cherry Creek Lift Station sewage leak, which was at least smaller than previous spills.

Cherry Creek, Withlacoochee River, Suwannee River, Gulf of Mexico

Cherry Creek, Withlacoochee River, Suwannee River, Gulf of Mexico

The orange red-circled disk shows Continue reading

Cherry Creek and Grand Bay Creek

Does Cherry Creek come from Grand Bay? This question came up about Valdosta’s Cherry Creek Lift Station Spill. No, but you weren’t alone if you didn’t know that.

Watershed Divide between Withlacoochee and Alapaha Basins
Cherry Creek (lower left) and Grand Bay Creek (right)

Cherry Creek runs into the Withlacoochee River, and comes from very near Grand Bay, but not Continue reading

Cherry Creek Lift Station Spill, Bemiss Road, Valdosta, GA

Valdosta had one spill at a lift station that lost power during Tropical Storm Irma, said David Frost, Interim Utilities Director, City of Valdosta, when I called him just now. I asked him if there were any others, and he said there was just that one.

Parcel 0146A-094G
Parcel 0146A 094G

He said it was a small spill. I asked how small. He said Continue reading

Rescheduled: Valdosta Workshop, 2018 5-year update, SGRC Regional Plan 2017-09-21

More Tropical Storm Irma effect. Received today, 12 September 2017:

Good morning, the meeting for the Regional Plan Workshop has been rescheduled from the 14th to:

Page 11: Regional Land Use Map, Regional Development, SGRC Regional Plan 2018 Full Update Workbook Draft, 17 August 2017 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st, 2017
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
SGRC Office
327 W Savannah, Ave.
Valdosta, Ga

Sherry H. Davidson
Local Government Services Director
FullLogo
229-333-5277 ext.124
229-300-0923 cell

For suggestions from WWALS so far and more Continue reading

No spills from Valdosta wastewater plants during Tropical Storm Irma 2017-09-12

Update 2017-09-12: But one small lift station spill.

William “Ricky” Cornelius, Plant Superintendent, Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), said when I called him this morning there were no spills from WWTP nor from Valdosta’s Mud Creek Treatment Plant (MCWTP).

“I don’t think Mud Creek even lost power. We were on generator power here at the Withlacoochee plant, and our people had to work extra hours, but they were on top of it. We were prepared and had no spills.”

I have left a message at Valdosta Utilities about any manhole cover leaks. We shall see about those, and about other cities and counties and private wastewater facilities up and down the Suwannee River Basin.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

River Gage Projections for Hurricane Irma 2017-09-10

Update 2017-09-15: On the seventh day.

Hurricane Irma is bringing flood levels on on most of the rivers in the Suwannee River Basin. Here are the gages with projections from downstream to upstream, since Irma is coming from the south. The images here are static to show this moment, but click on any image to go through to the live gage.

Suwannee River

Suwannee River at Fowlers Bluff

Suwannee River at Fowlers Bluff

Suwannee River at Branford @ US 27

Continue reading

Valdosta WWTP manned 24/7 with backup generators before Hurricane Irma 2017-09-09

Don’t spill, Valdosta. Don’t leak, Sabal Trail. Hurricane Irma is bad enough already.

Valdosta announced its WWTP would be “manned around the clock”, so I called down there before 8AM this Saturday morning, and somebody did answer immediately. I told him as Suwannee Riverkeeper I was concerned for people downstream who don’t want any spills during the upcoming rains, so I was glad to see it was true they were there. I asked him if they had backup generators. He said yes. Of course, that doesn’t handle every manhole cover. We shall see. Don’t spill, Valdosta! (Or Lowndes County, or Tifton, or anybody else.)

NOAA NHC Rain Prediction, Hurricane Irma, 9 Sep 2017
Currently expecting somewhere between 4 and 10 inches of rain on Valdosta. Map from National Hurricane Center, 2017-09-09 8AM.

City of Valdosta, PR, 8 September 2017, Valdosta-Lowndes County Hurricane Irma Update, Continue reading

Canceled: Pafford’s Landing Cleanup due to Hurricane Irma 2019-09-08

Everyone is a bit preoccupied right now tying things down for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever observed, so the Outings Committee has canceled this Sunday’s Rivers Alive Cleanup and Paddle Outing on the Alapaha River at Pafford’s Landing. Hurricane Irma may still decide to go east or west, but for a hurricane, better safe than sorry. Depending on the aftermath, we may reschedule for next weekend; stay tuned.

Category 1
These maps are details from New York Times, UPDATED 12:45 PM ET, SEPT. 8, 2017, Maps: Tracking Hurricane Irma’s Path.

Madison to Ocala

Four days ago Florida governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in all 67 Florida counties, and Monroe County, including Key West, was evacuating.

Irma is currently predicted to drop from Continue reading

The Three Stooges Greatest Sabal Fails at Dunnellon

To see Sabal Fail in inaction at Dunnellon, jump to The Dunnellon odorant leaks, where the pipeline stooges wrapped it in towels, sprayed a deodorant, and waited until morning. Really, according to the incident report from Marion County Fire Rescue. It doesn’t get better in this summary: none of the state or federal permitting or safety agencies did anything, leaving Marion County to deal with the situation unassisted.

The Three Stooges: A Plumbing We Will Go

If you want to know some background, see also Continue reading

GA coal ash committee might consider more safeguards

Georgia Power (and Florida Power & Light and Jacksonville Electric Authority) created the coal ash; they can find ways to dispose of it safely on their own land. And if FPL is shutting down coal plants, how about shutting down its Unit 4 at Plant Scherer, which sends mercury into our Alapaha River. FPL bought into that unit decades ago with the same excuses it’s using for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline now: shutting down a different generating plant, and alleged (now admitted false) need for more electricity.

Georgia Power coal ash pond at Plant Scherer
The Georgia Power coal ash pond at Plant Scherer, seen here in this undated company photo, will be closed over the next three years. Fabian, Liz – Macon Special to The [Macon] Telegraph

Kristina Torres, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, More safeguards could be considered for coal ash ponds in Georgia, Continue reading