Tag Archives: Alapaha River Water Trail

Infected fish caught on the Alapaha River, Berrien County, Georgia 2023-04-19

Where to report:
https://wwals.net/report/

Update 2023-04-27: Name of the fisherman and the original poster, with link.

These fish pictures are getting shared around, and keep getting sent to Suwannee Riverkeeper. Here’s what the fish disease might be. If you see a fish like this, please stick it on ice and get it biopsied so you can know. Call us, so we can know, and we can help you find a lab.

I have provided some eye bleach for after you look at this picture.

[Infected fish 2023-04-19]
Infected fish 2023-04-19

The fish was caught in the Alapaha River in Berrien County, Georgia.

I’ve heard at least five theories for what is the problem with this fish, from most likely to least: Continue reading →

Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20

Update 2023-04-29: Nankin filthy, Withlacoochee River 2023-04-27.

WWALS tests were clean for Thursday on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

Rain is predicted, but not much.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday upstream and Wednesday week before last downstream. They generally Continue reading →

Videos: US 84 to Mayday, Alapaha River 2016-05-07

Here are some previously-unpublished videos of a string of rapids on the Alapaha River between US 84 and Mayday.

[River Bend Rapids, Overhanging branch dunk, Cow Shoals, Cow Creek, Fallers Award at Mayday, Alapaha River, 7 May 2016]
River Bend Rapids, Overhanging branch dunk, Cow Shoals, Cow Creek, Fallers Award at Mayday, Alapaha River, 7 May 2016

They include Continue reading →

Naylor Beach and Boat Ramp in Swim Guide 2023-04-18

Update 2023-04-21: Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20.

Now that Kimberly Tanner is testing weekly at Naylor Park Beach, we’ve added it to Swim Guide.

[Sites and Swim Guide Map 2023-04-18]
Sites and Swim Guide Map 2023-04-18

Since Naylor Boat Ramp is only 300 feet upstream on the Alapaha River, we’ve add it to Swim Guide with the same testing results.

They are both in Naylor Park, which is owned by Lowndes County, Georgia, and operated by Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreational Authority (VLPRA). Continue reading →

Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers 2023-04-13

Update 2023-04-21: Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20.

Update 2023-04-18: Naylor Beach and Boat Ramp in Swim Guide 2023-04-18.

Happy swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13

All WWALS water quality test results for Thursday show clean from E. coli for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers. Crawford Branch at Skipper Bridge Road was a bit higher, but well within the 410 one-time test limit.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Rain is predicted for Sunday morning, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers. Continue reading →

Reissued Valdosta Stormwater Permit –GA-EPD 2022-12-06

Update 2023-05-19: Valdosta annual stormwater reports to GA-EPD 2023-02-14.

In December GA-EPD reissued Valdosta’s stormwater permit, which happens every five years.

[About, NOI, maps: Valdosta reissued Stormwater permit 2022-12-06]
About, NOI, maps: Valdosta reissued Stormwater permit 2022-12-06

However, if I understand the response by Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd in the documents received in response to an open records request, all there is right now is a generic boilerplate permit for cities of this size. That generic permit requires Valdosta to spell out best practices it will use, and to update its Stormwater Master Plan (SWMP), all by June 4, 2023.

Since the City Engineer has been quite receptive to public input lately, I hope this means Valdosta will be accepting input into rewriting the SWMP. About trash, for example. Continue reading →

Pictures: Bats, Venus, Jupiter, Banks Lake Full Worm Moon 2023-03-07

Sun, moon, bats, and planets, on a balmy night, last full moon at Banks Lake.

Come on out tonight at 6:45 PM and see for yourself!

[Sunset, Bats, Planets, Moonrise @ Banks Lake 2023-03-07]
Sunset, Bats, Planets, Moonrise @ Banks Lake 2023-03-07

Continue reading →

Maps: Valdosta Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters 2023-03-01

These maps show the locations of Valdosta’s Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters previously posted. They provide clues to where trash may be accumulating.

Most of the major creeks in Valdosta are represented, plus some that I didn’t know had names, such as Bunche Street Canal and Knob Hill Canal, as well as some that apparently do not have names.

Most (Sugar Creek, Hightower Creek, Dow Street Canal, One Mile Branch, Two Mile Branch, Three Mile Branch, Knob Hill Canal, Cherry Creek, and Browns Canal) are in the Withlacoochee River Basin.

Others (Knights Creek, Dukes Bay Canal, Bunche Street Canal) are in the Alapaha River Basin.

Several of the maps straddles several watersheds.

[Example Cluster maps]
Example Cluster maps

Below there is a pair of maps for each of the clusters: a map received from Valdosta in response to an open records request, and a map excerpt from one of the WWALS water trail maps.

The rest of the text below is from the document previously posted. Continue reading →

Pictures: Jennings Bluff Florida State Geological Site with Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

Update 2023-05-01: Alapaha Swallets Dye Trace Project 2016-10-01.

A congenial time was had by all on a balmy north Florida day at the Dead River Sink (or swallet) as the Florida Geological Survey incorporated it into the new Jennings Bluff Tract State Geological Site.

[Jennings Bluff State Geological Site and Dead River Sink 2023-03-17]
Jennings Bluff State Geological Site and Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

The Dead River Sink in the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) Jennings Bluff Tract is one of the most popular spots for WWALS outings on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

Here is a WWALS video playlist by Gretchen Quarterman, who also took the still pictures except where otherwise indicated:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwFQi2rSRU59BUHPbSkTdVW

Continue reading →

Videos: Lake Beatrice, Alapaha River, GA-EPD Seed Grants @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14

They mostly reviewed changes to the plan they approved at the last meeting, back in November, at this meeting in Nashville, Georgia, of Georgia’s Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council.

The biggest agenda item was discussion of the Lake Beatrice dam project, which is intended to impound water as a recreational facility for Ben Hill County and to replenish the Alapaha River when it is low.

[Attendees and Lake Beatrice project @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14]
Attendees and Lake Beatrice project @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14

Chair Scott Downing made an interesting point that we do this all the time via drinking water withdrawals, which go back into streams as outfall from wastewater treatment plants. This is why Lake Beatrice has enough incoming water to dam: outfall from the Ben Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant, which goes into Turkey Creek, Lake Beatrice, Willacoochee Creek, the Willacoochee River, and the Alapaha River.

Also, the Lake Beatrice project was his idea. Continue reading →