Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024 in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-10-14

Ashburn still needs to get a grip on its sewage spills. More timely reporting would also be good. One of them showed up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report a month late, and the other a week after the spill.

I missed seeing these Ashburn spills when they first appeared, due to a glitch in network access for the WWALS software that retrieves and interprets these reports daily.

[Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024, in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-11-13]
Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024

It’s not clear why it says “Wet weather” for October 14, since the only rain records I can find for Ashburn, Georgia, say it was clear and sunny that day and the day before. There was a fatal car wreck on I-75 in Ashburn on October 14, but the news report says nothing about wet weather.

Of course, Ashburn could have had its own flash flood event.

The November 7 Ashburn spill coincides with the Valdosta flash flood, and some of that rain did extend farther north. Continue reading →

Virtual public meeting about the minor proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 2024-12-09

Update 2024-12-14: WWALS comment on Okefenokee NWR Expansion 2024-12-13.

According to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS):

A virtual meeting has been scheduled for Dec. 9, from 6-8 p.m., for the public to learn more about the minor proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Registration for the virtual meeting is required.
https://empsi.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sJwkU7wZRKW_WkU0QlELZg

[Virtual public meeting, minor proposed expansion, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, 2024-12-09, 6-8 PM]
Virtual public meeting, minor proposed expansion, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, 2024-12-09, 6-8 PM

In addition, the public comment period has been extended to Dec. 13. Input may now be submitted until Dec. 13, 2024 via email to Okefenokee@fws.gov.

Additionally, a public meeting was held Nov. 12, 2024, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the Charlton County Annex Auditorium, 68 Kingsland Drive, Folkston, Georgia.

Here are some pictures from that November 12 meeting.
https://wwals.net/2024/11/13/pictures-public-meeting-about-okefenokee-nwr-expansion-2024-11-12/

Remember, nobody has to sell their land or get a conservation easement. Expansion of the acquisition boundary merely makes it easier for USFWS to acquire such land if somebody wants to sell. Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Cold Moon Paddle, 2024-12-15

A leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle. The bats may be sleeping.

When: Gather 4:30 PM, launch 5 PM, moonrise 5:47 PM, sunset 5:33 PM, end 7 PM, Sunday, December 15, 2024

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

[Banks Lake Full Cold Moon 2024-12-15, Banks Lake Outdoors, Lakeland, Georgia]
Banks Lake Full Cold Moon 2024-12-15, Banks Lake Outdoors, Lakeland, Georgia

Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers: Sugar Creek still nasty 2024-12-05

Update 2024-12-13: Filthy Sugar Creek, dirty Franks Creek, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-12.

WWALS water quality results for Thursday show the Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers clean upstream, and for Wednesday show the Withlacoochee clean downstream.

But the last results we have for Sugar Creek, from Valdosta Utilities for Tuesday, show Sugar Creek at Gornto Road still way too high in E. coli.

There has been no rain to speak of for a week, so rain is not washing contamination into the creeks.

It is very hard to see what could be causing such Sugar Creek E. coli numbers other than a sewage spill.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia since the small Valdosta spill into Two Mile Branch on Meadowbrook Drive on November 26, which cannot be causing the Sugar Creek contamination at Gornto Road.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin.

So if you like cold, this weekend seems good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek.

[Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-12-05 Sugar Creek still nasty]
Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-12-05 Sugar Creek still nasty

Alapaha River

Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meeting in Valdosta 2024-11-21

Water withdrawals in the SSRWPC region are almost entirely agricultural, noted Mark Masters of the Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center, Albany State University.

[Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2024-11-21, at Wiregrass Tech, Valdosta, Georgia]
Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2024-11-21, at Wiregrass Tech, Valdosta, Georgia

This was at the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meeting at Valdosta Tech in Valdosta, Georgia, November 21, 2024. Continue reading →

Stormwater flooding on Post Pointe Circle –Jennifer Verrastro 2024-12-04

These are the slides that Debra Lorence wanted to present at the Valdosta City Council meeting, November 21, 2024.

[Stormwater flooding on Post Pointe Circle @ VCC 2024-11-21, Jennifer Verrastro, Debra Lorence]
Stormwater flooding on Post Pointe Circle @ VCC 2024-11-21, Jennifer Verrastro, Debra Lorence

You can see what she said at 32:10 in Valdosta’s own video, as one of many people who complained about flooding.
https://www.facebook.com/CityofValdosta/videos/446513611510950/

Her slides are on the WWALS website in PowerPoint and PDF.

On the left in slide 2 is a culvert under North Valdosta Road (US 41) next to their property. On the right is a much smaller pipe under their property. Continue reading →

Hurricane Helene Damage, Langdale Park and Country Club Road at Three Mile Branch 2024-12-02

Update 2024-12-20: Langdale Park back open 2024-12-17.

On my way to collect some water quality samples, I looked in at Langdale Park towards the Withlacoochee River and Country Club Road at Three Mile Branch, both in Valdosta.

Nope, no driving in those places.

[Langdale Park still inacessible, Country Club Road closed 2024-12-05, Withlacoochee River, Three Mile Branch]
Langdale Park still inacessible, Country Club Road closed 2024-12-05, Withlacoochee River, Three Mile Branch

No doubt there are higher priorities for Lowndes County Public Works and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA). Continue reading →

Pictures: Camp and paddle at Griffis Fish Camp + Cast Iron Cookout, Suwannee River –Shirley Kokidko, 2022-12-02

“We paddled, we camped, and we cooked! Thank you to everyone for making this a fun weekend,” wrote Shirley Kokidko.

That was at Griffis Fish Camp, where they camped two nights and paddled the Suwannee River from the Okefenokee Swamp.

[Campfire Cooking, Griffis Fish Camp 2022-12-02, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp]
Campfire Cooking, Griffis Fish Camp 2022-12-02, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp

We’re doing it again, December 13-15, 2024.

Thanks to Shirley for these pictures from 2022.

See also facebook posts by: Continue reading →

Horrid Sugar Creek 2024-12-02

Update 2024-12-06: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers: Sugar Creek still nasty 2024-12-05.

Update 2024-12-05: Valdosta has published their results for Tuesday 2024-12-03. Lower than ours at St. Augustine Road (380), but way higher at Gornto Road: 12,700, more than a dozen times the 1,000 alert limit. There has been no rain. Is there some other explanation than an intermittent sewage leak between St. Augustine Road and Gornto? -jsq
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities/river-stream-water-quality-data/nov-2024-overflow-testing-results

Down at the WaterGoat was the worst place for E. coli on Sugar Creek on Monday: more than three times the alert limit at 3,200 cfu/100 mL.

It is not all coming from Two Mile Branch: we also got bad results upstream.

[Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?]
Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?

Some of the colonies are faint, but they’re blue with bubbles, which is what we count: (43+28+25) * 100 / 3 = 3,200 cfu/100mL, which is more than three times the 1,000 alert limit. . Continue reading →

Valdosta Sewage Spill, Meadowbrook Drive, Two Mile Branch 2024-11-26

Update 2024-12-11: Valdosta sewage spill reports to GA-EPD from November 7 through December 3, 2024 2024-12-03.

Update 2024-12-04: Horrid Sugar Creek 2024-12-02.

This sewage spill Tuesday of last week does not explain the very high E. coli results on Sugar Creek this Saturday.

[Valdosta sewage spill on Meadowbrook Drive 2024-11-26 into Two Mile Branch, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Valdosta sewage spill on Meadowbrook Drive 2024-11-26 into Two Mile Branch, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River.
Map: WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

I commend Valdosta for saying which waterbody the spill went into (Two Mile Branch). But the location is very vague: somewhere on Meadowbrook Drive. And why did Valdosta take a week to tell the public?

City of Valdosta Responds to Sanitary Sewer Overflow

On November 26, 2024, the Utilities: Central Line Division was notified of a potential sanitary sewer overflow on Meadowbrook Drive. Upon arrival, it was determined that an unknown obstruction or a collapse in the line was likely the cause of the issue. Central Line personnel began efforts to clear the obstruction from the sewer line but discovered the issue was more extensive than initially anticipated.

The team decided that additional personnel and equipment were necessary to assess the full scope of the problem. Bypass pumps, a larger crew, and additional equipment were brought in to perform a thorough evaluation of the line and determine the best course of action. It is estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of wastewater were released from a manhole into Two Mile Branch. City staff have initiated cleanup procedures and disinfection at the overflow site while continuing to address the repair.

The Utilities: Central Line Division will remain on-site until the issue is resolved. All appropriate regulatory and public health agencies have been notified.

The City of Valdosta remains committed to preventing sanitary sewer overflows. The Utilities Department is actively modernizing aging infrastructure and implementing a range of programs and strategies to minimize and prevent such incidents within the city limits.

For more information about these initiatives or to learn how you can contribute, please contact the City of Valdosta Utilities Department, Environmental Division, at 229-259-3592.

 -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/