Filthy upstream Withlacoochee, clean downstream and Little and Alapaha Rivers 2023-09-07

Update 2023-09-15: No water quality test results this week; Adel sewage spill two weeks ago 2023-09-14.

Update 2023-09-09: Upstream Alapaha River results.

In samples taken Thursday, WWALS testers found the Withlacoochee River filthy upstream of the Little River Confluence, at Franklinville, US 41, and GA 133.

FYI: Franklinville is upstream from Valdosta, so it’s not them this time.

So it’s a good thing we cancelled tomorrow’s Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup on the Withlacoochee River.

The Little River and the Alapaha River tested clean.

Update 2023-09-09: Except at the outflow creek from the Alapaha, GA, WWTP, where Heather Brasell got way-too-high 1,900 E. coli. However, she got zero for the Alapaha River just upstream from Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82; can’t get much better than that.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07

On the Little River, the Withlacoochee River downstream of the Little River Confluence, and the Alapaha River, happy swimming, fishing, and boating, as long as you don’t mind the rivers being high and fast.

We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers. Maybe you’d like to become one. Sign up here:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084

Three new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia, all from Continue reading →

Cancelled: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2023-09-09

Update 2023-09-12: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-10-14.

Cancelled on account of the Withlacoochee River is still too high after Hurricane Idalia, and our chainsaws don’t work underwater, the Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2023-09-09.

[FB: Cancelled due to river flood levels after Hurricane Idalia]
FB: Cancelled due to river flood levels after Hurricane Idalia

We will reschedule; new date to be announced.

The US 41 Withlacoochee River Gauge currently reads 122.36 feet. Our WWALS paddle recommendations are: Highest safe 12.7 feet, 123′ NAVD. Lowest boatable 5.7 feet, 116′ NAVD. And at the current level, the target deadfalls are about six feet underwater.

Valdosta US 41 (North Valdosta Road) Withlacoochee River Gauge
Valdosta US 41 (North Valdosta Road) Withlacoochee River Gauge

More: For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -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

Packet: Agricultural Water Use Monitoring Report and Practical Community Resilience @ SRWMD Board 2023-09-12

There are a couple of interesting items in the SRWMD Board agenda for next week.

[Agricultural Water Use and Practical Community Resilience @ SRWMD 2023-09-12]
Agricultural Water Use and Practical Community Resilience @ SRWMD 2023-09-12

The Agricultural Water Use Monitoring Report says most agricultural water wells 8-inches or larger in diameter are being monitored. But it doesn’t say what the results are. More flow? Less? To be continued, I suppose.

The SRWMD Practical Community Resilience through Enhanced Risk MAP Outreach for the Suwannee River Water Management District is a plan based on federal funding. It has a map showing all the Florida Suwannee River Basin counties are Florida Statute Fiscally Constrained Counties. Maybe it will have some results later.

What: SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING
The Public Hearing is about millage.
The PDF for that, as well as the board packet, is on the WWALS website.

When: 3 PM, Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Where: District Headquarters, Live Oak, Florida

GoTo Webinar Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1360284333254296661

Public Comment Form Link: www.MySuwanneeRiver.com/Comments

Pictures of the two reports mentioned, plus the agenda, are below. Continue reading →

Valdosta Hurricane Related Road Closures 2023-09-06

Thank you, Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd!

So far as I’ve seen, this is the only map of road closures after Hurricane Idalia for any city or county in the Suwannee River Basin.

Hurricane Related Road Closures

This is a public map depicting the current active road closures within the City of Valdosta due to impacts from Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Related Road Closures

  • Gornto Closure – 9/6/23
  • River Street Closure – 8/31/23
  • Westwood Drive Closure – 8/31/23
  • East Gordon Closure – 9/5/23
  • Oak Street Extension Closure – 8/31/23
  • Clay Road Closure – 9/5/23

Other Road Closures

  • Lake Park Road Closure – 7/15/23
  • Griffin Avenue Closure – 7/1/23

[Valdosta road closures 2023-09-06]
Valdosta road closures 2023-09-06

 -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/

WWALS River Revue on WKUB 105.1 FM 2023-09-06

Update 2023-09-10: Radio: water quality, cows, trash, mining too near the Okefenokee Swamp @ WKUB FM 2023-09-07.

Thanks to Bryan Blount for inviting me on WKUB 105.1 FM, from Pierce County, Georgia, to talk about the WWALS River Revue, a sit-down-dinner fundraiser, with three speakers, silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, all 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Tickets are available online only here:
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/

[WWALS River Revue and WKUB 105.1 FM]
WWALS River Revue and WKUB 105.1 FM

Bryan says he’s broadcasting on low power due to Hurricane Idalia, so maybe a few more people will hear the interview this way.

Here’s the 30-second Public Service Announcement he’s been playing by our headliner Katherine Ball:

Y’all come! Continue reading →

Please keep Quarterman Road in agriculture and forestry –WWALS to Greater Lowndes Planning Commission 2023-08-28

Update 2023-09-17: Videos: Quarterman Road rezoning unanimously denied @ LCC 2023-09-12.

Update 2023-09-09: Packet: Board of Health appointment, two rezonings, 4 water, mosquitoes @ LCC 2023-09-11.

Thanks to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) for voting 7:1 to recommend denial of a proposed rezoning on Quarterman Road that would have injected 2.5-acre lots into a 5-acre minimum agricultural and forestry area.

[WWALS Letter, maps, speakers 2023-08-28]
WWALS Letter, maps, speakers 2023-08-28

Thanks to all the neighbors and others who helped get that done, with a petition, by speaking in the Public Hearing, and by calling and writing their Commissioners.

GLPC only recommends. The actual decision will be by the Lowndes County Commission at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, September 12, 2023, in Commission Chambers, second floor, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601. You can speak in that Public Hearing, as well as call and write your County Commissioners, and sign the petition.

Meanwhile, thanks to WWALS President Sara Jay for sending the letter below to GLPC. Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council in Valdosta 2023-09-27

They move around their region, this quarter settling on Valdosta for a meeting.

[Public Notice with Cover, maps, and RCC]
Public Notice with Cover, maps, and RCC

Here is the Public Announcement: Continue reading →

Pictures: Banks Lake morning paddle 2023-09-04

A dozen people paddled four miles around Banks Lake on Labor Day morning. We saw three trees with bats, and the old one with no bats.

[Flyers, bat tree, etc. @ Banks Lake morning paddle 2023-09-04]
Flyers, bat tree, etc. @ Banks Lake morning paddle 2023-09-04

I forgot the banners, so people are holding up flyers for the WWALS River Revue. Continue reading →

Hurricane Idalia: State Parks Closed, Georgia and Florida 2023-09-02

Stir crazy from staying in due to Hurricane Idalia and want to go to a state park?

Many of them are open, but some remain closed, in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida.

Or come to the WWALS Banks Lake Morning Paddle 2023-09-04.

[Georgia and Florida State Parks Closed 2023-09-02]
Georgia and Florida State Parks Closed 2023-09-02

According to Georgia State Parks Weather Alerts – Hurricane Idalia:

Continue reading →

Banks Lake Morning Paddle 2023-09-04

Update 2023-09-04: Pictures: Banks Lake morning paddle 2023-09-04.

Join us for a four-mile paddle around Banks Lake.

If you want to take a break from the hurricane cleanup, come enjoy this peaceful, morning paddle around the perimeter of a beautiful cypress pond. There are no places to get out of your boat for a break once we launch. We’ll paddle at a leisurely pace, on flat water with no current, so it should take two hours.

[Morning Paddle around Banks Lake 8:30 AM 2023-09-04]
Morning Paddle around Banks Lake 8:30 AM 2023-09-04

This is different from the traditional WWALS Banks Lake paddles: it’s in the morning (not in the evening), it’s not on a full moon, and it’s a different route.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9 AM, end 11 AM, Monday, September 4, 2023

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725 Continue reading →