WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman says all the festival materials are in the tent, ready for Florida Folk Festival Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
![[Suwannee Riverkeeper tent, raffle kayak, and carrilon]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-25--florida-folk-festival/many.jpg)
Suwannee Riverkeeper tent, raffle kayak, and carrilon
Except of course the raffle kayak, with the carrillon visible behind it, at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, White Springs, Florida, on the banks of the Suwannee River. Continue reading
Gibson Park Ramp will not be closed for upcoming work, except possibly briefly.
Inquiring minds wanted to know, so I called Chuck Burnett, Director, Hamilton County Parks & Recreation.
The work is actually about the dock, not the ramp. Continue reading
The PFAS problem may cause wastewater treatment that cleans up another bad problem: pharmaceuticals.
Tara Lohan, The Revelator (Center for Biological Diversity), August 11, 2021, What Happens to Wildlife Swimming in a Sea of Our Drug Residues?
Wastewater exposes plants and wildlife to hundreds of chemical compounds. Researchers are learning about potential side effects and solutions.
Effects range from obvious physical defects to behavior change. For example, bold crawfish are not safe crawfish.
![[Valdosta WWTP clean outfall, 2023-03-04, 30.8361045, -83.3595411]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-11--wildlife-drugs-pfas/20230304_105039.jpg)
Valdosta WWTP clean outfall, 2023-03-04, 30.8361045, -83.3595411
But a different type of contaminant may lead to fixes. Continue reading
Update 2023-08-30: Lowndes County Litter Crew, JLH Beach, Folsom Bridge Landing, Little River @ GA 122 2023-08-23.
WWALS congratulates Lowndes County on winning a statewide award for their litter crew. We can attest that boat ramps and other public access points to rivers in Lowndes County are much cleaner since the county litter crew has been picking up there weekly, both on the WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail and the Alapaha River Water Trail.
We’d also like to thank Lowndes County Public Works for a longstanding agreement that they pick up bagged trash that WWALS leaves at river access points.
![[Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp: Lowndes County Litter Control 2021-06-10 (Photo: Bobby McKenzie) and WWALS cleanup 2022-12-17 (Photo: Gretchen Quarterman)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-15--loco-trash/many.jpg)
Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp:
Lowndes County Litter Control 2021-06-10 (Photo: Bobby McKenzie) and
WWALS cleanup 2022-12-17 (Photo: Gretchen Quarterman)
Malia Thomas, Valdosta Daily Times, May 15, 2023 Lowndes County honored with 2023 Georgia County Excellence Award for litter program,
VALDOSTA — Lowndes County has been recognized with a 2023 Georgia County Excellence Award for its litter program.
Continue reading
2023-07-11: Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest plus WWALS River Revue.
Submissions are open for the 2023 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
$300 First Prize, and $50 each for best song sent in from inside the Suwannee River Basin, and from outside.
Plus plaques to each best song per genre.
All finalists get videos posted on YouTube, and a one year WWALS membership.
WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, “Musicians, song submissions are open! Don’t wait until the deadline to send in your song.”
Here’s the entry form:
https://forms.gle/ZPbfnnLj5ruum5xk6
WWALS Development Director Veronica Oakler said, Continue reading
Update 2023-06-24: Work in progress at Lakeland Boat Ramp 2023-06-20.
Update 2023-05-26: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-05-25.
Update 2023-05-20: Alapaha River tested clean, thanks to WWALS tester Kimberly Tanner.
Two unusual places tested bad for Thursday, after big rains upstream from them: Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River, and Franklinville Landing on the Withlacoochee River. And there was more rain Friday upstream of Troupville.
Oddly, downstream tests on the Withlacoochee were clean.
No new sewage spills have been reported. in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
So I’d avoid the Little River this weekend, and go downstream on the Withlacoochee River.
Or join us tomorrow on the Suwannee River to portage Big Shoals.
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-05-18]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-18--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-05-18
The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday upstream and Wednesday week before last downstream. The Valdosta Monday upstream results were good, after bad Friday results for US 41 and GA 133, as we expected due to the rain back then. Continue reading
Back in December, Valdosta got a five-year renewal of its stormwater permit by GA-EPD. I noticed that the renewal process requires updating the city’s Best Management Practices (BMPs) by June 4, 2023. And the permit requires annual reports.
Here are the last five years of Valdosta annual stormwater permit reports, in 1051 files.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1MOOnrGRNitnaD1pxmSrxM54qDtG4vhgm
They must be valuable: Valdosta charged WWALS $106.53 to satisfy the open records request.
![[Two Mile Branch water quality, Pond inspection list, Pond enforcement]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-02-14--valdosta-annual-stormwater-reports-ga-epd/many.jpg)
Two Mile Branch water quality, Pond inspection list, Pond enforcement
They are rather dry reading, and I do not claim to have read them all. But there are some interesting bits.
It turns out Valdosta has some Fecal coliform results for Two Mile Branch, Continue reading
Update 2023-06-20: Rescheduled: Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-06-24 to merge with Sugar Creek to Troupville, Withlacoochee River Cleanup 2023-07-22.
We need volunteers to pick up trash while a few people chainsaw some deadfalls.
Our main target this time is one remaining big deadfall between I-75 and GA 133.
Yes, this stretch from Sugar Creek to Troupville is the same as for the plain old cleanup a month later.
When: 9 AM, Saturday, June 24, 2023
Put In: Meet at the back of the Salty Snapper parking lot, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602 and we’ll put in at the railroad tracks.
![[A deadfall between I-75 and GA 133, and a previous deadfall]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-06-24--chainsaw-cleanup-withlacoochee-river/many.jpg)
A deadfall between I-75 and GA 133, and a previous deadfall
These springs protection recommendations presumably took place at the SRWMD Board’s May 9, 2023, meeting in Live Oak: they were on the agenda.
![[Springs and WWTF --SRWMD Board Package 2023-05-09]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-16--srwmd-springs-projects/many.jpg)
Springs and WWTF –SRWMD Board Package 2023-05-09
SRWMD Press Release, May 16, 2023, Seven area projects recommended for Springs funding by SRWMD Governing Board,
LIVE OAK, FLA., MAY 16, 2023 — The Suwannee River Water Management District (District) Governing Board this month recommended seven projects to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for Springs funding.
The seven projects – two local government projects and five projects to a non-profit organization – total $6,106,441. This funding request is part of FDEP’s Springs and Watershed Restoration program which provides funding for projects that improve the quality and quantity of the state’s water resources. FDEP works with the water management districts, local governments, and other stakeholders to identify and implement springs projects that achieve these goals.
“Florida is a great place to live and do business; because of this, the state continues to see tremendous growth,” said Hugh Thomas, executive director of the District. “With that growth comes the need to identify innovative ways to grow while also protecting our natural resources. Funding for projects like these is beneficial to ensuring the preservation of our local springs for generations to come.”
Projects include:
Continue readingUpdate 2023-05-19: Fixed boat ramp attribution: Nankin, not Sasser.
Thanks to Georgia Rivers Alive for giving WWALS the 2022 Adopt-A-Stream Award for cleanups. This is the second year running WWALS has won this award.
![[Nankin Boat Ramp 2022-12-17, Statenville Boat Ramp 2023-01-07, Adopt-A-Stream Award 2023-04-27]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-04-27--wwals-rivers-alive-adopt-a-stream-award/many.jpg)
Adopt-A-Stream Award 2023-04-27
Photos: WWALS, at Nankin Boat Ramp 2022-12-17 and Statenville Boat Ramp 2023-01-07
While we appreciate the award, we’d much rather not have trash to clean up. There is some progress on that. The worst trash offender, Valdosta, has now Continue reading
![[Square Gibson Park Ramp 2022-02-05]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-25--gibson-park-ramp-work/big/gprampsquare.jpg)
![[Songwriting Flyer 2023]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-09-22--songwriting/big/Songwriting-Contest-Flyer-Color.jpg)