Back in 2015 and 2016, Rochelle, GA had some sewage spill problems, but they appeared fixed. Until March 2018, and then again in November 2018, and twice now in January 2019.
The January 10, 2019, Rochelle spill seemed almost negligible at 300 gallons of raw sewage. It took GA-EPD several tries even to figure out Continue reading
Update 2022-05-10: Pictures: Mayday to Statenville, Alapaha River 2019-03-23.
Let’s complete this missing link in the Alapaha Quest, a stretch of the Alapaha River never before done as a WWALS Outing!
When: Gather 8AM, Launch 9AM, Saturday, March 23, 2019
Put In: Mayday Landing, 49 Howell Road, Stockton, GA 31649, in Echols County, Georgia. South of Howell Road, east side of the Alapaha River, north of the railroad bridge.
GPS: 31.82827, -83.017179
Take Out: Statenville Boat Ramp, 206 GA 94 West, Statenville, GA 31648, in Echols County.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
![[Sand bank, 14:22:12, 30.82846, -83.01862]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2016-05-07--us84-to-mayday-alapaha-river/KIMG4896.jpg)
Sand bank, 14:22:12, 2016-05-07 30.8284600, -83.0186200
Update 2019-01-25: Added an HTML table of all spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia since the beginning of 2015.
WWALS Science Committee Chair Tom Potter made this committee report to the WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting of January 2019:
The Science Committee has focused on monitoring sewage spills from Municipalities in the region. The primary data is the online database provide by the GA EPD. The agency regularly compiles spill volume, date, and, location across the state and posts the information on-line.
WWALS played a central role in convincing EPD to provide this data in a timely manner and has regularly posted spill data on the WWALS website, wwals.net/issues/vww/ga-spills/. This a substantial improvement over prior reporting systems and is contributing to timely reporting of conditions that may adversely impact water quality and recreational uses of streams and rivers.
The following graph summarizes reported spill data in Quitman, Tifton and Valdosta and Continue reading
Update 2023-04-19: Videos: US 84 to Mayday, Alapaha River 2016-05-07
Waterfalls on the Alapaha River?
![[Movie: Waterfall (786K), 30.87078, -83.02267]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2016-05-07--us84-to-mayday-alapaha-river/KVID4839.jpg)
Movie: Waterfall (786K), 30.8707800, -83.0226700
Two weeks after the WWALS outing from US 84 to Mayday, some of us who didn’t make that one paddled the same stretch. The earlier crew had smooth sailing. We had rapids and waterfalls, because the Alapaha River was feet lower on the Statenville USGS Gauge. Continue reading
Received via email today. Most recipients got this notice Friday, but NCFRPC had a typo in my address. Yes, this is 4PM the same day as the 5:30 PM Valdosta City Council meeting. Each county has only one delegate to the Task Force, so maybe they can also send somebody to the City Council meeting.
MEETING NOTICE
MIDDLE AND LOWER SUWANNEE RIVER
AND WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER
TASK FORCEThere will be a meeting of the Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force on January 24, 2019, The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 213 Southwest Commerce Boulevard, Lake City, Florida, at 4:00 p.m.
![[Holiday Inn, Lake City, FL]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-01-24--ncfrpc-vld-task-force/Jan2019packet-0001.jpg)
Holiday Inn, Lake City, FL
PDF
A rather vague agenda is included, as well as minutes and slides from the previous meeting.
The only item I don’t recall from the previous meeting is this table, which appears to be Continue reading
Update 2019-01-22: Yes, that’s the same day as the 4PM meeting in Lake City, Florida of the Task Force of the downstream counties. Since each county only has one Task Force delegate, maybe they can send other people to the Valdosta City Council meeting. Or, if Valdosta is too far for you, maybe you’d like to go to Lake City Thursday.
WWALS Watershed Coalition board member Eileen Box invited downstream counties and residents to come speak to the Valdosta City Council this Thursday. Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman added, “Every Valdosta City Council agenda has Citizens to be Heard. They’re tired of hearing from me about sewage spills. Maybe if some of the affected parties downstream spoke to them directly they would notice. Come on up and give it a try!“
Photo: Jamie Wachter, Suwannee Democrat,
Youtube video, 2019-01-14.
Jamie Wachter, Suwannee Democrat, January 16, 2019, ‘IT’S A SHAME’ Residents, officials share wastewater spill concerns with legislative delegation,
[Eileen] Box, who is a board member of the Suwannee Riverkeeper, said North Florida residents may need to expand the reach of their complaints. She said those concerns need to be directed at the people who can do something about it — the Valdosta City Council.
“If they start hearing from Suwannee County and Hamilton and Madison and all these counties that are affected, when you come and talk, it does have an effect, she said. That may be one little thing that we can do.”
The next Valdosta City Council meeting is this Thursday:
When: 5:30 PM, Thursday, January 24, 2019
Where:
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
Valdosta City Hall
216 East Central Avenue, Valdosta, GA 31601
Well, it’s never happened before, but the weather is too cold for WWALS to paddle. Expedition leader Shirley Kokidko says it’s not a good idea to take people out on the open water after dark, when the prediction is 42 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill feeling like 40 degrees. So she’s cancelled the full moon outing formerly scheduled for Monday evening, January 21, 2019, on Banks Lake.
![[Boat light, double moon, 18:30:47, 31.0273566, -83.1061174]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-12-22--banks-lake-solstice-moon-paddle/20181222_183047.jpg)
Boat light, double moon, 18:30:47, 31.0273566, -83.1061174
Next: Our next scheduled paddle outing is Continue reading
Three tasks at once at Troupville Boat Ramp last Tuesday! Scotti Jay picked up trash, while Sara Jay did water quality testing (you, too can learn to do that). Then while Sara finished up Scotti and I replanted the signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
Sara Jay with water quality testing kit, Scotti Jay with trash bag, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail signs.
Those firefighting chemicals that leaked from Moody Air Force Base are on the front page of the Valdosta Daily Times today:
Moody recommends private well owners contact their county representatives for information on testing personal wells.
Paige Dukes, Lowndes County clerk and public information officer, said this is an opportunity for county residents such as Tann to have their water tested. Not only for PFAS but for any other contaminants that might be there.
Indeed, and Lowndes County operates the Moody AFB wastewater treatment plant that spilled into Beatty Branch and Cat Creek. So it’s an opportunity for Lowndes County to help organize testing for these per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs), because testing for them isn’t nearly as simple or inexpensive as testing for other contaminants.
![[Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, nearby resident Debra Tann, VDT reporter Thomas Lynn and photographer Derrek Vaughn, at Beatty Branch, January 7, 2019. Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS.]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-01-18--moody-pfas-vdt/20190107_163624.jpg)
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman,
nearby resident Debra Tann, VDT reporter Thomas Lynn and photographer Derrek Vaughn, at Beatty Branch, January 7, 2019. Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS.
Debra Tann and I were back at Beatty Branch on January 7, 2019, this time with the VDT, about the firefighting chemical issue that was in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the first week of January. This time it was for local reporters. Moody neighbor wants water tested, Continue reading
You can learn how to do water quality testing, and help WWALS test our waters. We have Florida training coming up this Monday, January 21, 2019, at noon, at Suwannee River State Park. We’ll be scheduling another Georgia training soon.
Here is Sara Jay testing Little River water at Troupville Boat Ramp, Sunday, January 6, 2019.
![[Continue titrating with Sodium Thiosulfate ONE DROP AT A TIME, swirling thoroughly after each drop,]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-01-06--wwals-troupville-testing/20190106_155851.jpg)
Continue titrating with Sodium Thiosulfate ONE DROP AT A TIME, swirling thoroughly after each drop,
Pictures of the whole test procedure are Continue reading
![[Air]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-01-06--wwals-troupville-testing/20190106_152646.jpg)