Water Quality Testing

See separate web page.

Georgia Spills

See separate web page GA Spills.

Including some by Valdosta you probably didn’t know about.

Valdosta spills, 2017-2018

Permits and Plans

Big Georgia wastewater permits in the Suwannee River Basin.

Valdosta Sewer System Improvements.

Valdosta Spills

See also separate web page Valdosta Spills.

After Michael

• 2019-01-28: Wastewater at Valdosta City Council, Winter 2018-2019
• 2018-10-09: Four weeks of fecal coliform 2018-10-09 2018-10-09 testing by Valdosta.

After Irma

• 2018-10-03: Pretty good water quality at Troupville 2018-10-03 2018-10-03
• 2018-10-03: Videos: Tour of Valdosta WTPs 2018-10-03
• 2018-10-02: WCTV on the Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force and text of the letter establishing it.
• 2018-10-02: Request GA-EPD to timely publish spill reports 2018-10-02
• 2018-09-21: Valdosta followup water quality data after June and August 2018 spills.
• 2018-08-21: Video: Valdosta explains Mud Creek WTP spill 2018-08-21
• 2018-09-20: Stream Monitoring after Lowndes County Val-Tech Road Spill 2017-09-23
• 2018-08-13: 135,000 gallons from Valdosta Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant 2018-08-13
• 2018-07-19: 1,200 gallons of some sort of sewage spilled by Lowndes County at an as yet undisclosed location.
• 2018-07-06: 9,300 gallons of untreated sewage spilled by Lowndes County into a ditch that runs into the Withlacoochee River.
• 2018-06-26: Valdosta spilled 300,000 gallons Tuesday 2018-06-26
• 2018-06-09: 5,400 gallons of sewage, Saturday, June 9, 2018, from 80 Old Brookfield Road, Tifton, GA, directly into the New River, after 4+ inches of rain beforehand and then another 1.5 inches.
• 2018-05-30: 36,000 gallons, Wednesday, May 30 through Thursday, June 7, 2018, from 315 E. 20th Street, into Tifton’s stormwater system, after 2 inches of rain.
• 2017-11-11: One Mile Branch Cleanup, with new Valdosta Utilities Director Darryl Muse giving an update on wastewater improvements.

During Tropical Storm Irma

Sewage spills: not just from Valdosta, especially during and after Tropical Storm Irma.

• 2017-09-22: 250,000 gallons Cow House Branch Lift Station Spill in Tifton, GA 2019-09-11
• Lowndes County: 31,200 gallons
  • 2017-09-26: 25,000 gallons Lowndes County Force Main Spill 2017-09-23, plus several smaller ones during Tropical Storm Irma.
  • 2017-09-12: 6,200 gallons from four lift stations, Irma sewage spills from Lowndes County 2017-09-12
• 2017-09-27: 20-70,000 gallons Quitman, GA, WPCP spill 2017-09-11.
• Valdosta: 900 gallons
  • 2017-09-12: 900 gallons Cherry Creek Lift Station Spill, Bemiss Road, Valdosta, GA.
  • 2017-09-12: No spills from Valdosta wastewater plants during Tropical Storm Irma.
• 2017-09-27: 0.00 gallons Moultrie, Georgia, did not spill during Tropical Storm Irma, nor during the month of September 2017.
• Florida: 0.00 gallons in its up-to-date Pollution Notices, FDEP shows no sewer spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida in September 2017.

Valdosta

Valdosta is ahead of schedule on spending upwards of $300 million to fix their overflows, expecting already finished with the two biggest pieces, the force main and the new, uphill, Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment plant, to start up in May 2016 in June 2016. Yet spills occasionally still happen and some questions still have not been answered.

The Valdosta wastewater situation is one of the reasons WWALS was founded.

Update 2018-04-15: Things have changed over the years. Valdosta for more than a year since January 2017 has spilled the least of Georgia wastewater facilities in the Suwannee River Basin. Note boldface additions below We are watching them all: Tifton, Quitman, Adel, Lowndes County, Valdosta, and others, and also Florida.

heavy rains upstream used to cause Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment plant to overflow, and heavy rains on Valdosta used tocause sewage to come out of manholes into neighborhoods and downstream into Sugar Creek, then the Withlacoochee River, and then the Suwannee River, famous all the way to the Gulf.

Not enough people know Valdosta is spending around $300 million to fix these problems. WWALS helps get the word out about that, while continuing to follow up on unresolved questions, such as what about leaks on the east and south sides of Valdosta, which go into the Alapaha River watershed?

The very first speaker at a WWALS board meeting after incorporation was Emily Davenport, then Stormwater Manager for the City of Valdosta, assisted by Angela Bray, then of the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC). Emily is now Assistant Director of Engineering for Valdosta, and Angela is now the Valdosta Stormwater Manager.

The most recent posts can be found by searching for Valdosta wastewater. Here are some of the most important posts.

Before Irma

• 2017-08-28: Valdosta has a new Utilities Director, W. “Darryl” Muse, formerly of Ocala, Marion County, Florida.
• 2017-04-11: Protection of the Suwannee River against Valdosta Sewage —City of Fanning Springs, FL
• 2017-03-09: Videos: Sewage at Valdosta City Council 2017-03-09
• 2017-03-07: Requesting protection of Suwannee River from Valdosta wastewater –Levy BOCC 2017-03-07
• 2017-03-07: Water issues at Valdosta City Council 2017-03-09
• 2017-03-02: FL Sen. Nelson to EPA about Valdosta sewage and response
• 2017-02-08: Ensure that Valdosta, Georgia eliminates the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers ‐Madison BOCC 2017-02-08
• 2017-02-21: Ask Florida governor to intervene about Valdosta wastewater —Suwannee BOCC 2017-02-21
• 2017-02-21: Hamilton County Florida Valdosta wastewater resolution asks Georgia and Florida governors to step in 2017-02-21
• 2017-02-11: Only Valdosta and Tifton spilled sewage in Georgia in Suwannee River Basin in January 2017
• 2017-01-30: FL House Rep. Elizabeth Porter asks EPA to Valdosta wastewater
• 2017-01-28: Valdosta attempts to come clean about sewage, and how you can help
• 2017-01-26: SRWMD says FDEP has confirmed river contamination possibly from Valdosta sewage 2017-01-26
• 2017-01-26: Moultrie sewage spill into Ochlockonee River
• 2017-01-26: Tifton wastewater spill into the New River into Withlacoochee into Suwannee River.
• 2017-01-25: Valdosta WWTP spilled millions of gallons and didn’t tell the public for days 2017-01-25
• 2017-01-24: And also a Valdosta WWTP spill 2017-01-24
• 2017-01-23: Small Valdosta sewer spills after big rains 2017-01-23
• 2016-10-27: Videos, Valdosta Wastewater and Flood Prevention
• 2016-10-22: Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant old and new
• 2016-10-10: Valdosta wastewater and flood prevention public meeting by WWALS 2016-10-27
• 2016-07-12: Pictures, Ribbon Cutting, Withlacoochee Water Pollution Control Plant
• 2016-06-09: Valdosta force main and new WWTP are online and working
• 2016-04-18: Valdosta wastewater improvements ribbon cutting being scheduled for May
• 2016-04-14: No new sewer spills from Valdosta or Lowndes County
• 2016-04-04: Details on Valdosta overflows last weekend
• 2016-04-03: More Valdosta wastewater spills over the weekend; stay tuned 2016-04-04
• 2016-03-28: Three more Valdosta wastewater overflows 2016-03-28
• 2016-02-15: Sewage into Two Mile Branch towards the Withlacoochee River
• 2016-02-07: Yet more Valdosta wastewater spills
• 2015-09-09: Valdosta wastewater fixes schedule update
• 2015-03-17: Videos: Valdosta Wastewater meeting with slides

  At the request of parties from Atlanta and downstream in Florida, WWALS asked Valdosta to organize this meeting, which was successful in allaying many concerns, but still left some hanging questions.

• 2014-04-15: Facebook Post Causes Tension Between Two Communities, by Winnie Wright, WCTV
• 2013-03-05: Valdosta famous for wastewater in rivers all the way to the Gulf
• 2010-12-08: Suwannee-Satilla Drainage Basin: Flood Control Issues and Requested Action; presentation by Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson about 2009 flood and old WWTP overflow.

While Valdosta is ahead of schedule fixing the problems, some of those hanging questions are still hanging.