Category Archives: River

Yes Another Cleanup Knights Ferry to Nankin, Withlacoochee River 2023-08-05

Come help us clean up more trash jams we found last time.

Most of it is legacy trash from Valdosta.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, August 5, 2023

Put In: Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, 6499 Knights Ferry Rd, Valdosta, GA 31601, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.71205, -83.45554

Floating trash jam 2023-04-08 and on-land trash 2022-12-17

Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-07-13

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

There was rain today, and more is expected tomorrow, so contamination could wash into the rivers.

No sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

So fish, swim, and boat at your own risk this weekend.

Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow, Withlacoochee Springs and Slough, Sullivan Launch 2023-07-15.

Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-13

Valdosta’s major spill of 2023-07-06 still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager two weeks ago promised to look into that.

Ashburn had three spills two weeks ago, one of them major, all finally reported this Wednesday. We’ll post a writeup on those later. Continue reading →

Slot machines from Mozell’s Place, sea food restaurant, Withlacoochee River, GA-FL line 2023-06-08

Making a deposit down at Citizens Community Bank of Hahira, I was waylaid by Senior VP Charles Henry Hobrat, who revealed what those odd machines are in his office.

Slots, Mozell’s Place

They are slot machines from Mozell’s Place, which was a seafood restaurant near the GA-FL line and the Withlacoochee River. That restaurant is why State Line Boat Ramp is commonly referred to as Mozell Spells. Anybody who remembers exactly where the restaurant was, please let me know.

CH said he found those slots in an old barn near Barney, Georgia, in Brooks County. Which is like him: he find all sorts of antique things; I’ve known him since junior high school. He speculated that they may not have been entirely legal in Georgia, and maybe were hidden away before the restaurant closed. Continue reading →

Pictures: Two Mile Branch Berkley Drive Cleanup 2023-03-25

It went well, the joint WWALS and City of Valdosta cleanup of Two Mile Branch at Berkley Drive, on March 25, 2023.

Many good things have happened since then.

However, there is still plenty the City needs to do about trash.

Collage @ Two Mile Branch Cleanup 2023-03-25

Thanks to Bobby McKenzie for leading, neighbor Jan Powell for rustling up some participants and helping at the table, to City Engineer Ben O’Dowd, City Council Tim Carroll, and Mayor Scott James Matheson for helping, along with quite a few other volunteers.

See also facebook photosets and videos by:

Some of the things the Engineer and Mayor promised have happened. Continue reading →

Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest plus WWALS River Revue

Update 2023-07-20: Juneteenth and River Ferries: Speakers in WWALS River Revue 2023-07-20.

Hahira, GA, July 10, 2023 — Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and this time for the entire first-ever WWALS River Revue.

MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023

Master of Ceremonies Chuck Roberts says about himself, “I grew up in Quitman and Valdosta, raised by two loving musical parents to enjoy and appreciate ALL kinds of music, because the arts enrich the mind and nourish the soul. Presbyterian Church Minister of Music for over 30 years. St. James Episcopal Soloist for over 25 years. Sang with Botie Chitty and The Singing Americans for 10 years. Recently sang two solos with Ed Barr Orchestra for Turner Center Arts AMERICAN SOUNDTRACK VOL. IX. I have the sweetest wife in the world, Sheila and three beautiful and talented daughters and two talented sons, and a new Golden Doodle puppy.”

“I’m very pleased to welcome Chuck Roberts back again as M.C.,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

This first-ever WWALS gala is an indoor fundraising gala, with catered sit-down meal, speakers, silent auction, and kayak raffle. It will be held 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/ Continue reading →

Clean Little and Withlacoochee River 2023-07-06

Update 2023-07-11: Yet another Valdosta sewage spill, five days ago, at 1800 E. Park Ave., Knights Creek 2023-07-06.

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

There’s been hardly any rain this week to wash any contamination into the river.

No rain is predicted until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.

No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend!

Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-06

The most recent Valdosta results we have are for Wednesday upstream and Monday downstream. They are all good.

Valdosta did see an odd too-high spike in E. coli at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River for Monday, but by Wednesday it was back down.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager a week ago promised to look into that. Continue reading →

Quitman raw sewage spill, 1401 N. Washington St. 2023-06-27

Update 2023-07-07: Clean Little and Withlacoochee River 2023-07-06.

Thanks to GA-EPD for clarifying the county, watershed, and location of the June 27, 2023, Quitman sewage spill of 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into a drainage ditch.

GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, Google Streetview, 1401 GA-333, Quitman, GA

Specifically, thanks to Dillon Rodenbaugh of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) for getting these things fixed, after I reported them. Continue reading →

Freezer full of meat at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp 2023-07-05

Suzy Hall found this smelly trash yesterday, July 5, 2023, at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp.

Ravine, freezer, Withlacoochee River under Clyattville-Nankin Road Bridge –Suzy Hall 2023-07-05

She says it’s in the “infamous ravine”, which I’m assuming to be the one south (left) of the boat ramp, about here: 30.674710, -83.394021. Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Little Rivers 2023-06-29

Update 2023-07-07: Quitman raw sewage spill, 1401 N. Washington St. 2023-06-27.

The Alapaha, Little, and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

There’s been no rain this week to wash any contamination into the river.

There was one small sewage spill from Quitman Tuesday, but if it had any effect on the Withlacoochee River it was gone by Thursday.

No rain is predicted until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.

River water levels are back down to boatable range.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this Fourth of July weekend!

Maybe you’d like to join us on Monday evening on Banks Lake, just west of Lakeland, Georgia, to paddle out to see the sun set and the moon rise, with bats!

Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-06-29

The Quitman spill was 3,000 gallons, from a lift station on Moultrie Highway, with no more specific location. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) had Quitman in the wrong county and watershed, but since I pointed that out to them they say they’ve fixed it in their database and the changes will show up in their next report. Which I would guess would be Wednesday, after the holiday.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager today promised to look into that.

No other sewage spills have been reported. in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. Continue reading →

Nominating Okefenokee NWR for UNESCO World Heritage List –WWALS 2023-06-28

Update 2024-12-24: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to be Nominated to Join UNESCO World Heritage List –U.S. Department of the Interior 2024-12-20.

This is what we sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their bid to make the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Remember, you can still help stop a strip mine from locating near the Okefenokee Swamp:
https://wwals.net/issues/titanium-mining

The WWALS letter 2023-06-28 and the old-growth cypress 2021-01-10

It features an old-growth cypress stand with trees 400-500 years old.

NW: Big Cypress Camp Island, Little Cooter Lake, 30.6829690, -82.2001230 seen on a Southwings flight for Suwannee Riverkeeper 2021-01-10.

The WWALS letter

In web form below, and also in PDF and with attachments.

See also the previous WWALS letter of January 26, 2021.

And, among the references cited, thanks to WWALS Science Committee Chair Tom Potter for spotting G. Ronnie Best, et al., “An Old-Growth Cypress Stand in Okefenokee Swamp,” University of Florida, 1984. https://cfw.essie.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/312/2020/07/Best-etal-1984-OldGrowthCypressStandInOkefenokeeSwamp-BookChapter.pdf