Public Health Assessment of Rice Rail Yard, Waycross, GA 2018-06-07

The Georgia Department of Health published many positive downwards trends in contaminants, and some big “cannot conclude”s last summer, when it released through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) a Public Health Assessment, CSX TRANSPORTATION — RAIL YARD SITE, WAYCROSS, WARE COUNTY, GEORGIA.

Most of the graphs show downward trends, like this one, of Trichloroethene (TCE), the substance whose detection seems to have kicked off all this work.

On page 39, the report says about data collected by Silent Disaster: Continue reading →

Rochelle details, and Tifton spills at Agrirama Lift Station 2019-01-15

Tifton, and any other cities: if you keep spilling from the same place whenever there’s a big rain, maybe it’s not the rain that’s excessive. Maybe your sewage infrastructure is inadequate and you should fix it.

One day a week ago GA-EPD included latitude and longitude in the spreadsheet, with this for Tifton’s Agrirama Lake Lift Station: 31.464770, -83.530532, shown here on the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

In yesterday’s GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report we have a little more detail on the 300-gallon Rochelle, GA spill: Continue reading →

Hike at Little Shoals 2019-01-19

Approximately 3-mile loop hike through a riverine slope forest, led by Hamilton County Practicing Geologist Dennis J. Price. It is a mature hardwood forest with open understory. Small creeks, spring seeps and seepage slopes are common, near the Suwannee River, northeast of White Springs. Hiking on and off trail. We end up back where we started.

This is the rescheduling of the former Hike to Dead River, because the Alapaha River is too high there.

When: 12:00 PM, Saturday, January 19, 2019

Put In: Little Shoals Entrance:
In white springs on US 41, turn onto CR 135 at flashing light across street from S&S food store.
About a mile or two north of White Springs on County Road 135 is the entrance to Little Shoals in the Big Shoals State Park.
It is a wide open entrance and you can see the parking area once you turn into entrance.
(Do not go to the main entrance to Big Shoals, which is 4 miles north of the Little Shoals entrance.)

GPS: 30.342129, -82.734417

Take Out: Little Shoals Entrance

Bring: drinking water, snacks, hiking shoes, warm clothes, and first aid kit. No boat required: this is a hike, on foot. 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. $4 park entrance fee per car. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Map: Little Shoals and Big Shoals by SRWMD, including PDF map.

Continue reading →

Quitman spill amount 2019-01-14 for 2019-01-03

Finally we see in the GA-EPD data from yesterday a total for Quitman’s spill of the third of January:

120,000 gallons of raw sewage. That’s far more than my previous guess.

Maybe you’d like to join the new WWALS water quality testing program. Or maybe you’d like to join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Let’s add up Quitman’s recent spills: Continue reading →

Marion County Comprehensive Plan to reject Coastal Connector? 2019-01-15

Maybe you’d like to show up 2PM tomorrow, Tuesday, January 15, 2019, and encourage the Marion County, FL, BOCC to adopt into the county’s Comprehensive Plan a Resolution they passed June 5, 2018, which would help head off future road boondoggles. The resolution opposes any Coastal Connector highway routes through Marion County.

DRAFT Areas of Opportunity, 4/6/2016

When: 2PM, Tuesday, January 14, 2019

Where: McPherson Governmental Complex,
601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala, FL 34471

What: Item 14.B.4. on the agenda is adopting the resolution into the county’s Comprehensive Plan.

Event: facebook

As juries recently decided about easement for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline (which Marion County also opposed), “full compensation” is not the same as “just compensation” for road rights of way, either:

J. It must be recognized that the issue is not simply the payment of “full compensation” to owners of the most valuable equine and agricultural properties in Marion County. Rather, it must be recognized that as a result of any of these corridors, the required right-of-way acquisitions and resulting construction of the proposed facility will not only damage, but may destroy many of these important operations in Marion County, and consequently, negatively impact the economic vitality and long-range growth of Marion County; and

Gouging pipelines or highways through farm or horse land or under rivers destroys what they traverse. No amount of compensation would be sufficient.

If you’re nearby, this would be good opportunity to stand up for water, environment, and property rights.

Janet Barrow Letter

WWALS member Janet Barrow sent them this letter. EAR is Continue reading →

Top of the Alapaha River Basin: Rochelle, GA, spilled 2019-01-10

First time we’ve seen this: 300 gallons of raw sewage spilled from Rochelle, Georgia, in Wilcox County, at the top of the Alapaha River Basin.

Rochelle is nestled between Continue reading →

Sabal Trail still can’t keep the gas flowing 2019-01-10

Like last winter, Sabal Trail can’t keep the gas flowing during the dead of winter, the only time Florida might need heating.

This data is from Sabal Trail’s Informational Postings, which are required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

As you can see by the numbers on Sabal Trail’s current map, even at the other stations it is shipping less than half (393) of its currently stated capacity (813). At Reunion, even the capacity is lower (711), and the amount shipped (Nom) is a sixth of that. Continue reading →

Tifton spilled again into Agrirama Lake 2019-01-06

Yet again into Agrirama Lake, Tifton spilled 8,500 gallons of raw sewage yesterday (Sunday, January 6, 2019). And, finally, a number of gallons Valdosta spilled from its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant back on December 15, 2018.

As you can see, cities in the Atlanta Metro Area spilled more. And in the table below you can see many more of them spilled.

Not that that makes Tifton’s spill Continue reading →

Still below the limit: fecal coliform in Valdosta river data 2019-01-02

Three weeks in a row! The Valdosta river water quality testing data WWALS obtains through a weekly open records request shows all stations tested below the Georgia state limit last Wednesday.

However, like the week before, there are no data for Continue reading →

Full Wolf Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, 2019-01-21

Join us the first full moon paddle of the year on Banks Lake. The sun goes down early, 5:59 p.m., and sunsets are spectacular on the lake. Please plan to arrive early (by 5 p.m.) to prep your boat so that we can be on the water no later than 5:30 p.m. We will enjoy the view while paddling through the cypress trees before it gets dark while we look for birds, gators and bats. If the sky is clear we will see the full moon rise at 6:45 p.m.

When: Gather 5:00 PM, Launch 5:30 PM, Monday, January 21, 2019

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow stick, head lamp, or flashlight), and bring a rope for your boat. You must wear a PFD. A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark. Dress for cold weather, the temperature drops quickly after the sun sets. 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!