Category Archives: Weather

Hurricane Helene headed up the Suwannee River Basin 2024-09-26

Hurricane Helene has shifted its likely course to the east, so most of the Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia is in its path.

Since most of us seem to be in the hurricane of the month club, you probably all already know what to do. But a reminder might not hurt.

[Hurricane Helene heading to Suwannee River Basin 2024-09-26. Be prepared. Evacuate if near water.]
Hurricane Helene heading to Suwannee River Basin 2024-09-26. Be prepared. Evacuate if near water.
Map by National Hurricane Center.

According to NBC News, Helene is a Category 4 hurricane now, which means maximum sustained wind speeds of 130 miles per hour or more. Landfall is expected in a few hours, maybe as a Cat 3 (111-129 mph).

It may even be a Cat 2 (96-110 mph) well into Georgia. Even a Cat 1 (74-95 mph) is no joke, and for much of Helene’s inland path would be unprecedented.

If your county or city has an evacuation order, please pay attention. There was already flooding yesterday in Ben Hill County, Georgia, which is well more than 100 miles from the Gulf.

Even if it doesn’t, if you live near a river or a coast, heading uphill would be prudent. Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-09-19

Update 2024-09-28: Probably clean rivers before Hurricane Helene, but please stay home 2024-09-25.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Wednesday, and the Alapaha River for Thursday. Valdosta got high results for Franks Creek at Inner Perimeter, upstream of Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. However, Ashburn, Georgia, showed up in today’s GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report as having a 30,000-gallon raw sewage spill on August 24. See below.

There was some rain this week, but very scattered, so probably not much contamination washed into the river. As always, we can merely report what test results we have. Actual conditions may vary.

The weather prediction is sunny for the next five days.

Most rivers are back to normal water levels, even the Ichetucknee River. The only gauges still in Action Stage are for the Santa Fe River at Three Rivers Estates and Worthington Spirngs, and the New River (of the Santa Fe) at Lake Butler, and the Suwannee River above Gopher River Confluence.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

Maybe join us tomorrow for Red Roberts Little River Chainsaw Cleanup, 2024-09-21. You do not have to use a saw. You can come take pictures, collect trash, or pull limbs out of the way. Kayaks and canoes welcome, to accompany the WWALS jon boat and 9.9 hp outboard.

[Clean Rivers: Withlacoochee 2024-09-18, Alapaha 2024-09-19, but Ashburn Sewage Spill 2024-08-24]
Clean Rivers: Withlacoochee 2024-09-18, Alapaha 2024-09-19, but Ashburn Sewage Spill 2024-08-24

Continue reading →

Chemours spilled wastewater from Trail Ridge Mine into Bradford County, FL 2024-09-14

Update 2025-02-23: Chemours Trail Ridge South Mine Process Water Spill 2025-02-16.

Chemours had another spill into the Santa Fe River Basin from its Trail Ridge South titanium dioxide (TiO2) Mine. They say this one was very small.

It took a different path than the one on January 30, 2024, but it also eventually drains into the Santa Fe River.

This spill was north of Camp Road, west of Treat Road, actually in Clay County, on land owned by the State of Florida, draining into Bradford County.

The spill was reported at coordinates 29.89094873, -82.04341783, puts it at the top of Double Run Branch 03110206003356, on land in Clay County owned by Armory Board State of Florida.

[Tailings Spills from Chemours Trail Ridge South Mine in Clay County into Bradford County, Santa Fe River]
Tailings Spills from Chemours Trail Ridge South Mine in Clay County into Bradford County, Santa Fe River

That drains west into Bradford County, through land owned by SRWMD and Rayonier Forest Resources, LP, into Double Run Creek, which goes through land owned by Schoeffel Enterprises LLC and Harry W. and Mary Ann Kyle, before it drains through more Rayonier and SRWMD land into the Santa Fe Swamp Conservation Area into the Santa Fe River.

Here is the report we received from FDEP at 5:11 PM, Monday, September 14, 2024. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2024-09-12

Update 2024-09-20: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-09-19.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday, and the Alapaha River for Thursday. Valdosta got high results for Franks Creek at Inner Perimeter, upstream of Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

There was some rain Wednesday and Friday, but mostly far upstream, so probably not much contamination washed into the river. As always, we can merely report what test results we have. Actual conditions may vary.

The weather prediction shows high chance of storms today through most of the week, but mostly in the afternoon.

Only the lower Ichetucknee River and the New River (of the Santa Fe) at Lake Butler are in Action Stage, and nothing is in flood.

The Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers have come back up a bit.

So if you can avoid the rain, happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

[Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, Bad Knights Creek at Inner Perimeter 2024-09-12]
Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, Bad Knights Creek at Inner Perimeter 2024-09-12

Withlacoochee River

Continue reading →

Map of Waterkeeper Florida Territories 2024-09-13

This map was compiled by Waterkeepers Florida, which is an umbrella organization consisting of the fourteen Waterkeepers of Florida: Apalachicola Waterkeeper, Calusa Waterkeeper, Collier County Waterkeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Kissimmee Waterkeeper, Lake Worth Waterkeeper, Matanzas Riverkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, Peace Myakka Waterkeeper, St Johns Waterkeeper, St Marys Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Suwannee Riverkeeper, and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper.

[Waterkeepers Florida Territories Map plus FDEP Territories and Disaster Map]
Waterkeepers Florida Territories Map plus FDEP Territories and Disaster Map

What’s the different between Waterkeeper, Riverkeeper, and Coastkeeper? Nothing, really: all work for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in their territories. All are trademarks of Waterkeeper Alliance (WKA) and refer to an organization and to a specific individual who is the spokeperson for the waterbody.

WKA is trying to standardize on Waterkeeper for all new ones. We had to argue to get Suwannee Riverkeeper because all the ones surrounding us are Riverkeepers, and that’s the term people hereabouts know.

The WKFL Territories Map is actually a layer in a WKFL Disaster Map. Other layers include Districts of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River, Dirty Franks Creek 2024-09-04-05

Update 2024-09-14: Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2024-09-12.

The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday, but Franks Creek upstream of Hahira tested dirty; that’s upstream of the Little River.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

There’s been little rain for a week, so no contamination is expected. The weather prediction shows high chance of storms starting today.

The lower Ichetucknee River, and the Suwannee River downstream from the Santa Fe are in Action Stage, and the Santa Fe at TREPO is still in flood.

The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are now below Action Stage. The Alapaha is actually getting too low, as is the Withlacoochee upstream.

So if you can avoid the rain, happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

Be sure to join us tomorrow, Saturday, September 7, 2024, for the WWALS River Revue, 5-8 PM at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta. It’s a sit-down fundraising dinner with speakers from Florida and Georgia, a silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024

[Clean Withlacoochee River Above and below Valdosta, Dirty Franks Creek Above Hahira and Little River 2024-09-04-05]
Clean Withlacoochee River Above and below Valdosta, Dirty Franks Creek Above Hahira and Little River 2024-09-04-05

Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-08-29

Update 2024-09-02: Bad Alapaha WTP Outflow 2024-08-30.

The Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. We did hear of a fish kill in Lakes Rowell and Sampson far upstream of the Santa Fe River, apparently on Friday, August 23. People are investigating.

There’s been little rain for a week, so no contamination is expected. The weather prediction shows chance of storms starting Monday, but not for the weekend.

Santa Fe Lake, The lower Santa Fe, and the Suwannee River at Fargo and downstream from the Santa Fe are in Action Stage, and the Santa Fe at TREPO is still in flood.

The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are now below Action Stage. The Alapaha is actually getting too low.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

Be sure to join us Saturday, September 7, 2024, for the WWALS River Revue, 5-8 PM at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta. It’s a sit-down fundraising dinner with speakers from Florida and Georgia, a silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024

[Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain]
Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain

Continue reading →

Pictures: Jon boat Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25

I think that’s eight big deadfalls and some littler stuff that we sawed, downstream on the Withlacoochee River Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup. Hurricane Debby and other storms left quite a bit of debris.

[Downstream Chainsaw Cleanup, Langdale Park 2024-08-25, 2 jon boats and a canoe, Withlacoochee River]
Downstream Chainsaw Cleanup, Langdale Park 2024-08-25, 2 jon boats and a canoe, Withlacoochee River

We had Phil Royce’s jon boat with 3.5 hp outboard, the WWALS jon boat with 9.9 hp outboard, and TJ Johnson in a canoe.

I think there were four or five chainsaws among us, including the 24-inch Husqvarna 460 that the Wild Green Future Grant paid for, along with the 9.9 hp outboard. Plus TJ’s handsaw.

Here are some video snippets:
https://youtu.be/tuGSugOlTLw?si=xQrAla60gZzeNnkR

So you want to know: after all this sawing, can you paddle from Langdale Park to Sugar Creek? Continue reading →

Upstream deadfalls, Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River, Chainsaw Cleanup 2024-08-25

Update 2024-08-27: Pictures: Jon boat Withlacoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25.

I thought we’d just skate up under the US 41 bridge to where Stillhouse Branch comes out of Valdosta Country Club, to see if there was a logjam or trash there.

But only a little more than halfway up Langdale Park to the bridge, we found a huge oak deadfall.

Sawing passage through that took a while. And then we could see an even bigger oak and pine deadfall.

[Upstream deadfalls, Langdale Park 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Chainsaw Cleanup]
Upstream deadfalls, Langdale Park 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Chainsaw Cleanup

Here are a few videos:
https://youtu.be/XB66qmC2XrY

So we turned downstream towards our primary chainsaw cleanup goal of clearing downstream passage.

We being Phil Royce and TJ Johnson from Live Oak, Florida, and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Thanks to Wild Green Future for the generous grant that paid for the Husqvarna 460 24-inch chainsaw and the 9.9hp outboard motor, as well as the tires on the boat trailer. Continue reading →

Chainsawing deadfall from Langdale Park Boat Ramp entrance Road 2024-08-25

Update 2024-08-25: Upstream deadfalls, Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River, Chainsaw Cleanup 2024-08-25.

This deadfall had been there since Hurricane Debby, 20 days before.

It was in our way to Langdale Park Boat Ramp, and we had chainsaws for the Langdale Park Boat Ramp jon boat chainsaw outing, so we removed this deadfall.

[Chainsawing deadfall, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA, Chainsaws from Live Oak, FL]
Chainsawing deadfall, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA, Chainsaws from Live Oak, FL

We being Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and two people from Live Oak, Florida: Phil Royce and TJ Johnson.

Do we get paid for this, Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority?

Thanks to Wild Green Future for generous grant that paid for the Husqvarna 460 24-inch chainsaw I used to make the main cuts.

Videos:
https://youtu.be/5AnuFDuwNKQ?si=EAkbbFZU_HTLjZcF

Continue reading →