Category Archives: Testing

Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-03-06

Update 2025-03-14: Dirty Withlacoochee River 2025-03-12.

For the Withlacoochee River this week, WWALS got good results upstream and down, and Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84.

We have no new water quality test results for Sugar Creek. Chances are that the previous sewage spill has washed out, although more testing would be good.

WWALS got excellent results for the Alapaha River at Naylor Park Beach.

No new sewage spills were reported in Florida or Georgia.

Saturday is supposed to be mostly rainless, before thunderstorms Sunday. River levels are good.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating Saturday!

[Clean Alapaha and, Withlacoochee Rivers, 2025-03-05, 2025-03-06]
Clean Alapaha and, Withlacoochee Rivers, 2025-03-05, 2025-03-06

Join us tomorrow for the Troupville Withlacoochee Upstream Chainsaw Cleanup 2025-03-08
https://wwals.net/?p=67153

Or come on down to the WWALS Booth at Azalea Festival, One Mile Branch, Drexel Park, Valdosta, GA 2025-03-08.
https://wwals.net/?p=67089

And Saturday week join us for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.
https://wwals.net/?p=66833

Continue reading

Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27

Update 2025-03-07: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-03-06.

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

We have no new water quality test results for Sugar Creek. However, since there has been no rain, chances are it’s not bad.

Meanwhile, Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Withlacoochee River at Holly Point, down near the Suwannee, for Franks Creek at GA 122 west of Hahira, and for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

No new sewage spills were reported in Florida or Georgia, although GA-EPD did post some clarification about the most recent Ashburn spills; stay tuned for a separate post about that.

Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be sunny. The Withlacoochee River is still a bit high, but not if you know what you’re doing.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

[Clean Franks Creek, 2025-02-26, Clean Alapaha & Withlacoochee, Rivers 2025-02-27]
Clean Franks Creek, 2025-02-26, Clean Alapaha & Withlacoochee, Rivers 2025-02-27

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Chemours Trail Ridge South Mine Process Water Spill 2025-02-16

Update 2025-02-28: Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27.

Update 2025-02-24: Two Georgia House bills introduced to protect the Okefenokee Swamp 2025-02-20.

Sunday a week ago the Chemours Trail Ridge South titanium dioxide mine spilled process water, approximately 230,000 gallons.

Chemours has decades of experience with many TiO2 mines in north Florida and south Georgia. Yet they spill. Should we trust an inexperienced bunch of coal miners to strip mine for tooth whitener materials within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp? When those same coal miners already spilled while processing tailings at two Chemours north Florida mines, causing a Florida Consent Order?

[Chemours Trail Ridge South, Mine Process Water Spill, 230,000 gallons, Sunday, February 16, 2025]
Chemours Trail Ridge South, Mine Process Water Spill, 230,000 gallons, Sunday, February 16, 2025

This is according to a report emailed the next day in the daily Pollution Notice by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Which has more detail than what you can see in the online map of the last 30 days of reports.

For example, the emailed report has “Coordinates (in decimal degrees): Lat: 29.891, Long: -82.043”. That puts it within feet of the location reported for the September 14, 2024 Chemours process water spill.

Which is at the old Trail Ridge Mine, not at the location farther south of there given in the 2019 Bradford County Commission hearings for a permit for Trail Ridge South Mine.

I called my usual contact at Chemours, and he says the released water is little different from what would be in the creeks anyway.

I told him that would be great, but everyone would like to see some evidence, such as what Chemours promised in the incident report: “Water within the tailing cell, point of entry and downstream locations have been sampled and we will continue to monitor. The sample locations are checked every day per our water quality monitoring program.&rqquo; Plus some independent sampling downstream.

I have also sent email to the contacts for the Trail Ridge South Mine, asking for that information and a tour of the facilities. We shall see.

Meanwhile, Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) is on the case and has asked FDEP for further information. OSFR recommends:

“Please help remind our DEP to assess and inform us about the levels of radium that were discharged. You can contact the FL- DEP to request the sample results from the spillage. You may want to email the inspector Chris.Suarez@floridadep.gov or call the Mining and Mitigation office at 850-245-8336 to ask that the spill analysis be posted.”

So where did this wastewater go? According to the stated coordinates, at the top of a wetland or pond. Continue reading

Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16, Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19

Update 2025-02-28: Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27.

We do not have any updates on Sugar Creek, but the recent rains probably washed more contamination into it.

Valdosta Utilities got too high E. coli downstream on the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 for Wednesday. But OK results farther down at US 84.

Upstream on the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton, WWALS got too high for Monday.

Ashburn had yet another small sewage spill Friday a week ago, at the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive, into Hat Creek, which goes to the Alapaha River.

“On Sunday, February 16, 2025 at approximately 6 PM,” Chemours spilled approximately 230,000 gallons of process water from its Trail Ridge South Mine east of Starke, Florida, upstream of the Santa Fe River. Stay tuned for a separate report.

The Withlacoochee River is in Action Stage at and above Valdosta and at Pinetta.

If you’ve got a power boat and stay below the Little River Confluence, the volume of rainwater probably makes the Withlacoochee River relatively clean. I wouldn’t recommend kayaks or canoes unless there’s more than one of you and you really know what you’re doing.

Paddling or fishing or swimming (if you like cold) would be better on other rivers this weekend. At least the weather prediction is sunny and warmer than it has been recently.

[Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16]
Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16

Little River

WWALS Internet and Tester Samantha Carr sampled the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton on Monday. We’re going with Suzy Hall’s interpretation of Samantha’s slides: 8+7+13 * 100 / 3 = 933 cfu/100 mL. That’s higher than the 410 one-time test limit. Continue reading

On The Spotlight Show, Talk92.1 FM: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2025-03-06

Join us on The Spotlight Show on talk921.com at 6 PM, Thursday, March 6, 2025.
https://talk921.com

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and “Diamond” Jim Halter will talk about

[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM]
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1164828191815898

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14

Update 2025-02-21: Valdosta Sewage Spill Reports: Jackson Drive, not Street, and Sugar Creek 2025-02-17.

Valdosta’s Sugar Creek tested even worse Friday after the Thursday rains, as expected.

The Withlacoochee River downstream at State Line tested pretty clean, with the volume of river water diluting the creek contamination. Also, apparently nothing washed from Quitman out of Okapilco Creek, or it was diluted or had not yet reached the GA-FL line.

[Filthy Sugar Creek, Friday, February 14, 2025, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line]
Filthy Sugar Creek, Friday, February 14, 2025, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester Suzy Hall for Friday got 1,800 cfu/100 mL E. coli at the WaterGoat below Berta’s Kitchen parking lot. That’s well above the 1,000 alert limit, and almost four times her Wednesday result of 466, which was above the one-time test limit of 410.

So something is still washing out of Sugar Creek during rains such as the inch or more that fell on Valdosta Thursday. Probably it is just residual sewage sludge from the months-long Sugar Creek sewage spill. The Valdosta Utilities bypass is still in place, and we can hope that was the only leak on Sugar Creek.

More rain is falling today (Sunday), so best to continue avoiding Sugar Creek.

Join us Sunday, February 23, for another chainsaw cleanup, assuming the Withlacoochee River has gone back down enough by then:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading

Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13

Update 2025-02-16: Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14.

Sugar Creek wasn’t as horrible this week as last, but it still tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road and downstream for Wednesday.

That was before an inch or two of rain Thursday, which most likely washed more contamination into Sugar Creek and on into the Withlacoochee River.

[Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains]
Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains

But Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

One new sewage spill was reported in the last week in Georgia, by Ashburn, into Hat Creek upstream on the Alapaha River. See other post:
https://wwals.net/?p=66982

None were reported in Florida.

Saturday is supposed to be partly sunny, with thunderstorms Sunday.

So other than near Sugar Creek, happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend, before the rain!

We did cancel the chainsaw cleanup tomorrow, due to high water level and Sugar Creek contamination.

But there’s another one on Sunday, February 23:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading

Withlacoochee River and New River clean, Sugar Creek Dirty 2025-02-06

Update 2025-02-14: Five days of changes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-14.

A step backwards: Sugar Creek tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road for Wednesday.

It’s not as high as in many weeks, but still above the alert limit. And there had been no rain to wash anything into the creek.

So, what’s going on? Is there another leak? Or a glitch in the sewage spill bypass?

[New River clean 2025-02-02, Withlacoochee Clean 2025-02-06, Sugar Creek, Dirty 2025-02-05]
New River clean 2025-02-02, Withlacoochee Clean 2025-02-06, Sugar Creek, Dirty 2025-02-05

WWALS and Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got OK results for the New River downstream (south) of Tifton at GA 125 in Berrien County.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the last week in Georgia or Florida.

No rain is predicted for the next five days, with warm sunny weather this weekend.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

Or join us at Troupville Boat Ramp for a Withlacoochee River chainsaw cleanup on Saturday, January 8:
https://wwals.net/?p=66873

Or another one on Sunday, January 9:
https://wwals.net/?p=66892 Continue reading

Okefenokee Day, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-06

Where Georgia state legislators and aides could not miss us, half a dozen groups presented Okefenokee Day in the hallways of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta.

[Okefenokee Day, Georgia state Capitol 2025-02-06, Okefenokee Swamp Park, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge]
Okefenokee Day, Georgia state Capitol 2025-02-06, Okefenokee Swamp Park, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

This was the flyer for organizers. I’m one, since Suwannee Riverkeeper is part of the Okefenokee Partnership which was the principal organizing body for this event. Continue reading

Clean New Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers; Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-29

Update 2025-02-08: Withlacoochee River and New River clean, Sugar Creek Dirty 2025-02-06.

Finally! Valdosta Utilities got OK water quality results for Sugar Creek at Gornto Road, for the first time since the November 6-7, 2024, flash flood. Apparently the bypass is working.

WWALS got OK results for the New Little River south of Tifton and the Alapaha River at US 82, GA 122, and US 84.

Valdosta Utilities got OK results for the Withlacoochee River at US 41, good at GA 133, and OK at US 84.

However, Valdosta Utilities got too-high results at Knights Creek at Inner Perimeter Road. I wonder if there is a Sewage Spill warning sign there?

No new sewage spills have been reported in the last week in Georgia or Florida.

No rain is predicted for the next nine days, with balmy weather this weekend.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

Or join us next weekend for a chainsaw cleanup on Saturday, January 8.
https://wwals.net/?p=66873

Or another one on Sunday, January 9.
https://wwals.net/?p=66892

[Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2025-01-30, Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-28]
Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2025-01-30, Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-28

Continue reading