Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19

Update 2024-12-27: Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26.

With no rain since last week, Sugar Creek is better, but still has too much E. coli at the WaterGoat near the Withlacoochee River. River water dilutes it below there, and upstream also the Withlacoochee River is clean. The Little and Alapaha Rivers tested clean.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, but in Georgia, Ashburn had yet another small spill.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin. The Santa Fe River at Fort White is actually too low to paddle.

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, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend]
Clean Alapaha, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend

Alapaha River

Ashburn reported quickly for once that it had a 2,000-gallon sewage spill into Hat Creek from the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive. This time the cause was “Equipment failure.” Get a grip, Ashburn! Continue reading →

Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Malia Thomas tried to cram two or three stories into her WTXL TV report about Valdosta closing the Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek. She asked me about all of the effects of the bridge closure, contamination of Sugar Creek, sewage spills, Valdosta municipal bonds for water and sewer projects, how those are all related, and what caused them. A for effort to Malia.

[Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells]
Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells

Among other things I said on-camera: to help find the source of the ongoing contamination in Sugar Creek, if anyone sees or smells sewage near Sugar Creek, One Mile Branch, or Hightower Creek, please let us know:
https://wwals.net/report/

And contact Valdosta Utilities:
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities

After excerpts from the WTXL story, I’ve included the Valdosta press releases about the bridge closure and businesses remaining open.

Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, December 20, 2024, Recent flood damage prompts repairs to Gornto Road bridge in Valdosta:
Valdosta works to repair Gornto Road after flood erosion compromises Earl Wetherington Bridge.

…

  • Heavy flooding from Hurricane Helene caused erosion under the Earl Wetherington Bridge on Gornto Road in Valdosta.
Continue reading →

Langdale Park back open 2024-12-17

Much to my surprise, when I checked Langdale Park Tuesday, it was open, down to Langdale Park Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River, on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

This was fast recovery after Hurricane Helene had had the access, Hyta Mederer Road, covered with downed trees starting about a third of the way in.

[Langdale Park back open 2024-12-17, After Hurricane Helene, All other VLPRA parks open]
Langdale Park back open 2024-12-17, After Hurricane Helene, All other VLPRA parks open

That was December 17, 2024. I was there again yesterday, Thursday, December 19, to collect a water quality sample, and took a few more pictures. Continue reading →

Suwannee River Water Trail signs planted at Fargo Ramp and Griffis Fish Camp 2024-12-15

Update 2025-01-02: Another view: Griffis Fish Camp Suwannee River Water Trail signs planted –Richard Fowler 2024-12-15.

We got two sets of at-water signs planted Sunday on the Suwannee River in Georgia, at Fargo Ramp and Griffis Fish Camp, just downstream from the Okefenokee Swamp.

[Suwannee River Water Trail at-water signs planted at Fargo Ramp and Griffis Fish Camp 2024-12-15]
Suwannee River Water Trail at-water signs planted at Fargo Ramp and Griffis Fish Camp 2024-12-15

Thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) for the grant that paid for these signs for the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT).

Thanks to Ray Figueroa of Miami for digging the hole at Fargo Ramp.

Thanks to Linda Tindall of Umatilla, Florida, for digging at Griffis Fish Camp, to Richard Fowler of I’m not sure where for photographing, and to Shirley Kokidko of Pearson, Georgia, for bringing water for the Quikrete.

Thanks to camp manager Walter Hickox for telling us where to plant the Griffis signs.

There are also signs for Stephen C. Foster State Park, but those are waiting on final sign-off by the Park and by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

There are more images below. Continue reading →

Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta? 2024-12-17

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Update 2024-12-21: Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20.

Yesterday I went to the locations of all the recent creek water quality tests in Valdosta. No sewage spill warning signs were posted at any of them.

I understand that it can be difficult to find the cause of this ongoing contamination of these creeks weeks after the flash flood.

But how much can it cost to plant sewage spill warning signs?

There were no signs at Wainwright Drive or W Gordon Street on One Mile Branch, where Valdosta got 2,040 and 1,045 cfu/100 mL E. coli for Tuesday last week. The alert limit is 1,000. Not even where the Azalea City Trail goes along One Mile Branch at Wainwright Drive.

Not at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek where Valdosta got 1,120, nor at Baytree Road nor at the Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle sewer line on Sugar Creek where WWALS got 13,433 and 6,533 for Wednesday of last week. The higher the numbers, the more likely someone will get sick, either from the E. coli itself, or from other contaminants in sewage.

Not at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek where Valdosta got 11,900 and WWALS got TNTC, Too Numerous to Count. And not at Sugar Creek in front of Berta’s Kitchen, where WWALS got TNTC, and not at the bottom of Berta’s parking lot near the WaterGoat.

Also not at Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River, even though Valdosta has previously posted a sewage spill sign there when there was Withlacoochee River contamination, such as the 695 Valdosta got at GA 133 for Tuesday of last week. The one-time limit is 410.

I did find one sewage spill sign: facedown in the dirt between Berta’s parking lot and the WaterGoat.

How about some sewage spill warning signs, Valdosta, planted where people can see them?

[Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

Here is a chart of the numbers. Continue reading →

Video: Kayak raffle drawing for Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak at Banks Lake 2024-12-15

Update 2024-12-22: Raffle Kayak Winner: Belinda Edwards Herndon 2024-12-19.

WWALS Board Member Kim Tanner, assisted by Board Member Janet Martin and other paddlers at Banks Lake, determined the winner of the raffle for the Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak.

[Video: Kayak raffle drawing for Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak, at Banks Lake, by Kim and Ryan Tanner]
Video: Kayak raffle drawing for Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak, at Banks Lake, by Kim and Ryan Tanner

People got their raffle tickets online, at various festivals and outings, at the WWALS River Revue, etc.

Kim shook them all up and Ryan drew the winner.

Here is video:
https://youtu.be/dWrCvjrX7yA

And the winner is… Continue reading →

WWALS comment on Okefenokee NWR Expansion 2024-12-13

Update 2025-01-05: Okefenokee NWR Minor Acquisition Boundary Expansion approved by USFWS 2025-01-03.

Here is the letter I sent to USFWS yesterday. I have added some images and links for this web publication, plus a few extra paragraph breaks to fit the pictures. See also the PDF.

December 13, 2024

To: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Okefenokee@fws.gov

Re: WWALS comment on Okefenokee NWR Expansion

Dear Fish and Wildlife Service,

Suwannee Riverkeeper for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) files these comments in support of the proposed minor expansion of the acquisition boundary for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR).

I further recommend that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Department of Interior, or Congress, provide sufficient funds to make competitive offers to buy land.

[WWALS Comments 2024-12-13, Proposed Minor Expansion of the Okefenokee, National Wildlife Refuge]
WWALS Comments 2024-12-13, Proposed Minor Expansion of the Okefenokee, National Wildlife Refuge

I sympathize with concerns I have heard expressed by people living near the ONWR, perhaps most basically Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek, dirty Franks Creek, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-12

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Update 2024-12-21: Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20.

Update 2024-12-18: Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta? 2024-12-17.

WWALS testing showed Sugar Creek got even more contaminated after the rains Wednesday. Valdosta Utilities testiong showed Hightower Creek and One Mile Branch were bad again, and the Withlacoochee River too high in E. coli at GA 133.

WWALS tests showed Franks Creek bad, upstream from the Little River.

WWALS water quality results downstream at Holly Point for Wednesday showed the Withlacoochee River clean there. But upstream contamination from the recent rain had not had time to get there.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. But this E. coli contamination has to be coming from somewhere.

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 and the Withlacoochee River near GA 133, and possibly the Little River downstream of Franks Creek.

Or join us Sunday evening for the Banks Lake Full Cold Moon Paddle, 2024-12-15 and, also at Banks Lake, raffle drawing for the Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak.

[Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-12, dirty Franks Creek 2024-12-11, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-11]
Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-12, dirty Franks Creek 2024-12-11, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-11

Sugar Creek

Continue reading →

Raffle: Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak drawing later in the day Sunday and at Banks Lake 2024-12-15

Update 2024-12-16: Video: Kayak raffle drawing for Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak at Banks Lake 2014-12-15.

Update 2024-12-13: The raffle drawing will still be on Sunday, December 15, 2024. However, it will be later in the day, at 4:45 PM, and at Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT). You have until noon Sunday to get your tickets.

WWALS is raffling this slightly-used 12-foot 9-inch sit-on-top kayak with paddle, a Hurricane Skimmer 128.

New, it lists for $1,399.

The suggested donation is $10 for one ticket or $50 for six tickets.

Tickets are available online in person at WWALS events, or online with small fees.

Kayak Raffle Tickets

A single ticket is $10 + $1 fee:
https://wwalswatershed.square.site/product/2024-kayak-raffle-hurricane-skimmer/49?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

Six tickets online are $50 + $1.50 fee:
https://wwalswatershed.square.site/product/2024-kayak-raffle-bundle-hurricane-skimmer/51?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

[Raffle: Hurricane Skimmer 128 Sit-On-Top Kayak with Paddle]
Raffle: Hurricane Skimmer 128 Sit-On-Top Kayak with Paddle

Proceeds go to support the advocacy and activities of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., and IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity.
https://wwals.net/donations/ Continue reading →

Rivers, creeks, and Alapaha River Water Trail in Echols County Comprehensive Plan Update 2024-01-25

The state-required five-year update process for the Echols County Comprehensive Plan has started, with a kick-off meeting December 5, 2024.

The first Workshop appears likely to be January 25, 2025, most likely in Statenville.

Stay tuned for updates from the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC).
https://www.sgrc.us

Or ask SGRC Planner II Alexandra Arzayus, aarzayus@sgrc.us, 229-333-5277.

[Rivers, creeks, and Alapaha River Water Trail in Echols County Comprehensive Plan Update]
Rivers, creeks, and Alapaha River Water Trail in Echols County Comprehensive Plan Update

Meanwhile, WWALS has been doing its part since the last update, adopted July 9, 2020.
https://dca.georgia.gov/document/plans/plan-update-2020-3/download

We thank the Echols County Commission for their Okefenokee Resolution to help protect the Suwannee River from strip mining near the Okefenokee Swamp.

We have paddled on the Suwannee River, including Fargo to campsite, Suwannee River 2022-03-05 and State Line to Turner Bridge, Suwannee River 2022-03-06.

We have formalized a Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT).

We have suggested to Echols County a boat ramp on the Suwannee River. As far as we know, the county is pursuing that opportunity with the landowner and the GA-DNR.

WWALS convinced GA-EPD to redesignate all of the Alapaha River in Echols County from Fishing to Recreational, meanwhile stricter levels of permitted contamination.

WWALS has designed, printed, and planted at-water signs and road signs for the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT). Continue reading →