Tag Archives: Alapaha River

Pictures: Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center 2025-06-06

Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-06-29 and Alapaha River 2026-07-01

The Withlacoochee River and the Alapaha River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, and it’s even supposed to be sunny Saturday and Sunday morning.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Clean Withlacoochee 2026-06-29, and Alapaha River 2026-07-01, Sunny Saturday and Sunday morning, Happy paddling, swimming, and fishing

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Some history and data on the Suwannee River near Gibson Park –Byron Herder 2026-06-25

Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-10

Update 2026-06-19: Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-06-18.

Even better news! The Alapaha, Withlacoochee, and Santa Fe Rivers tested even better this week.

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

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating.

Maybe you’d like to join WWALS for Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13.

https://wwals.net/?p=70464

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Clean Alapaha 2026-06-07, Withlacoochee 2026-06-08, Santa Fe 2026-06-10, Happy paddling & swimming

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Local Industrial Development Authority @ Irwin County BOCC 2026-06-01

The Local Industrial Development Authority took two Irwin County Commission meetings to approve.

The ordinance says the Authority is limited to the unincorporated parts of Irwin County and that it is to have nine Directors.

For the June 3 meeting where they finally approved that ordinance, we got nothing but a Public Notice: no agenda, no board packet.

But in response to an open records request, we got an extensive board packet for the June 1, 2026, meeting. It also includes a household trash burn ordinance, a solar ordinance, an ordinance limiting appraisals for low-income properties, an employee performance evaluation form, and a job posting for a County Administrator. That last item is not on the agenda, but it is in the packet.

Local Industrial Development Authority @ Irwin Co. BOCC 2026-06-01, 2026-06-03, Burn Ordinance, Solar Ordinance, County Administrator job posting

These items are on the WWALS website. Images of each page are below, except I have omitted the 22 blank pages. Continue reading →

Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13

We’ll paddle through a couple of shoals, known as Jennings Defeat: have a tow rope on your boat. There are a few small waterfalls along this stretch from Georgia into Florida.

The takeout is near the confluence of the Alapahoochee & Alapaha Rivers so you have the opportunity to paddle up to Turkett Creek Waterfall before leaving. It’s a real treat!

This 10.36 mile paddle is not recommended for beginners due to deadfall in the river to weave through and lack of level ground to get out of your kayak; there are high banks along this section.

Beware that the last time we did this stretch as a WWALS outing, two people ended up getting married.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 2:30 PM, Saturday, June 13, 2026

Put In: Statenville Boat Ramp, 206 GA 94 West, Statenville, GA 31648, right bank, west of river, north of highway bridge, in Echols County.

GPS: 30.704437, -83.03468

Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13, Jennings Defeat Shoals, Turket Creek Waterfall

Continue reading →

SRWMD Governing Board Meeting 2026-06-09

There’s nothing on the SRWMD agenda Tuesday about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin.

But you can speak in item “4. Public Comment” about most anything. Don’t be late: it’s very near the start of the meeting.

That’s 9 AM, Tuesday, June 9, 2026,
at SRWMD HQ, 9225 Co Rd 49, Live Oak, FL 32060.

You can watch remotely on SRWMD’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@SRWMD

SRWMD Governing Board Meeting, 4. Public Comment, 9 AM, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, SRWMD HQ, 9225 Co Rd 49, Live Oak, FL

Elsewhere on the agenda there are:

https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/Archive.aspx?ADID=1753

5. Consent Agenda Item No. 22 – Task Work Assignment with Water & Air Research, Inc (see below)
7.A. Hydrologic Conditions Report
21. Water Resources Division Updates
Workshop Following Board Meeting: Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Tentative Budget Presentation

Plus some details about surplus lands as well as work at various parks.

Last month twelve people spoke about WFNF, but the Minutes record them each only as Water First North Florida concerns. You can see them in SRWMD’s own video. They were: Continue reading →

Review, Project Arrowhead, DRI 4689, Irwin County, GA –SGRC 2026-05-14

Only two state agencies commented on the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) for the Project Arrowhead datacenter near the Alapaha River in Irwin County, Georgia:

the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council (SSRWPC) in one page, and
the DRI facilitator, the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC). Beyond a three-page summary at the beginning, the SGRC comments mostly consisted of the same 21 pages we already saw at the beginning of the comment period.

In the section of “Comments from Public Agencies” the other two letters are from the Georgia Water Coalition (GWC) and from WWALS, which you have already seen.

Fifteen citizens commented in the section labeled “Comments from the Public – Non-official.” All were opposed to the datacenter.

For much more about datacenters, including who you can contact, petitions, and upcoming meetings, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters

Review, Project Arrowhead, DRI 4689, Irwin County, GA –SGRC 2026-05-14, Comments from Public Agencies, Comments from the Public

I thank Irwin County Assistant County Manager Bonnie Kelly, Ed.D. and County Clerk Patricia Battle for each returning a copy of this document within minutes after I sent in an open records request this morning.

This is presumably the same document you can see the Irwin County Commissioners perusing in Videos: Datacenter Special Exception approved at Special Called Meeting of Irwin County BOCC 2026-05-20.

The document is on the WWALS website and images of each page are below. Continue reading →

Maps of datacenters 2026-05-29

Erin Brokovich has a famous name, and she has started a map of U.S. datacenters.

While hers has more locations, a map by Fracktracker allows drilldown to see what is there.

Numerous other such maps exist, most with less coverage.

For much more about datacenters, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters

Maps of datacenters by Erin Brokovich and Fracktracker, 2026-05-29

Erin Brokovich’s map has the locations of Project Arrowhead in Irwin County near the Alapaha River and of the datacenter rezoning in Lowndes County, near the Withlacoochee River, but you can’t tell that’s what they are by her map.

https://brockovichdatacenter.com

Her map also has the rumored I-75 Exit 13 location in Lowndes County, and the old bitcoin mining operation in Cook County.

Plus something in ZIP 32628, which is Cross City, Dixie County, Florida. I can’t find anything on that location. Continue reading →

Hydrologic Conditions Report –SRWMD 2026-04-30

In case you thought recent rains had solved the drought, think again.

This is the April 30, 3026 Hydrologic Conditions Report that was presented at the May Governing Board meeting of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD).

Hydrologic Conditions Report –SRWMD 2026-04-30, Still in drought, Need much more rain

https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/DocumentCenter/View/19656/04-April-26-Hydro-Reportk

SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
MEMORANDUM
TO: Governing Board
FROM: Robbie McKinney, Hydrologic Program Manager, Office of Water Resources
THRU: Hugh Thomas, Executive Director
DATE: April 30, 2026
RE: April 2026 Hydrologic Conditions Report
RAINFALL

Districtwide average rainfall for the month was 0.88”, which was about 74 percent lower than the 1932-2025 average of 3.38” (Table 1, Figure 1). The 12-month period ending April 30 reflected a Districtwide rainfall deficit of 20.22”, which was an increase to the 19.98” deficit seen at the end of March. District counties ranged from just over 0.5” to 1.4” of rainfall on average, with parts of Taylor, Suwannee, Columbia, Hamilton, Union, Gilchrist, and Dixie counties receiving more than 2.5 inches of rainfall (Figure 2).
Overall, a 12-month rainfall deficit was present in all river basins, with the Aucilla and Coastal basins increasing in deficit by the end of April (Figure 3). A small area in the southern Waccasassa Basin showed a deficit of less than 8 inches. Portions with deficits greater than 29” were also observed in the Aucilla, Santa Fe, and Suwannee basins. Each river basin increased its 3-month rainfall deficit by the end of April (Figure 4). No surpluses were seen over the past 3 months, and each river basin had areas measuring anywhere from less than 6” to more than 9” of deficit. Sections with greater than 9” of rainfall deficit can be seen in all 5 of the basins.

SURFACE WATER
Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.