Tag Archives: Alapaha River

Rivers Alive Trash Pick Up, Alapaha River, Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, 2022-09-24

Update 2022-09-30: Pictures.

Get a Rivers Alive t-shirt for picking up river trash. Come to Berrien Beach Boat Ramp with gloves and trash pickers if you have them. No boat required, but those of us who bring one will also float across to Berrien Beach itself and clean up there, or you can drive across the bridge and get there by land.

When: 9 AM – noon, Saturday, September 24, 2022

Put In: Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, 12496 Highway 168, Nashville, GA 31639, N side of GA 168, right bank, west side of Alapaha River, in Berrien County, Georgia.

GPS: 31.159076, -83.045554

[Volunteers at Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, Rivers Alive t-shirt 2020-09-12]
Volunteers at Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, Rivers Alive t-shirt 2020-09-12

Bring: No boat required, but you can bring one if you like, with the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: this WWALS outing is a cleanup. Continue reading →

Good Water Quality, Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2022-07-28

Update 2022-08-05: Rivers probably OK water quality 2022-08-04.

Update 2022-07-29: Madison Health lifts Withlacoochee River Health Advisory 2022-07-29.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing on the Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Little Rivers this weekend, according to the most recent water quality test results we have.

No significant rain has fallen in the past two days, and none is predicted for the weekend. And no significant new sewage spills have been reported, so chances are good for all weekend.

Madison Health has not yet lifted its Withlacoochee River Health Alert, because they want successive good results. But we call them according to the most recent data we have.

And happy chainsawing and picking up trash tomorrow on the Withlacoochee River next to Valdosta.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2022-07-28]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2022-07-28

Valdosta’s results upstream were OK for Wednesday a week ago, Friday, Monday, and this Wednesday, but they were various colors of bad downstream for those same days. Thanks to Scott Fowler of Valdosta Utilities for getting those results updated on Valdosta’s website today. Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14

Update 2022-07-22: Bad Quality Withlacoochee River 2022-07-21.

All clear for fishing, swimming, and boating on the Withlacoochee, Little, and Alapaha Rivers, according to the latest water quality test results we have.

But avoid Cat Creek and Beatty Branch for fishing. See below. (I don’t know anybody crazy enough to boat or swim in those creeks.)

There hasn’t been much rain the past few days, so probably not much contamination will wash into the rivers. No sewage spills have been reported in Florida or Georgia, other than Valdosta’s 200 gallon sewage spill on Baytree Road, which they vacuumed up quickly enough that probably little if any ever reached the Withlacoochee River.

Thunderstorms could change things quickly, but that’s what we know now.

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

Thanks to Scott Fowler of Valdosta Utilities for forwarding Valdosta test results soon after they are finished, so we know that Valdosta E. coli results were good for Wednesday and Monday at US 41, GA 133, and US 84. And we know Valdosta’s US 41 and GA 133 results for last Friday, July 8, 2022, were sky-high: 4,700 and 5,200 cfu/100 mL, respectively. The alert limit is 1,000.

Those high results could not be related to the July 9th Valdosta spill, because it hadn’t happened yet. That E. coli is probably not coming from Valdosta, since US 41 is upstream of almost all of Valdosta. Sure, something could be coming down Cherry Creek through Lake Cleve into the river, or it could be septic tanks in houses around there, or septic tanks across the river in Lowndes County.

Since high E. coli keeps turning up at US 41 and GA 133, WWALS set out to find out where it is coming from. Continue reading →

Five Rivers Clean 2022-07-07

Update 2022-07-15: Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14.

According to ten WWALS Thursday test sites on five rivers, and Madison Health lifting their Withlacoochee River Health Advisory, five rivers tested clean Thursday.

There was substantial rain yesterday, but since previous rains probably washed off the worst stuff, most likely there won’t be much effect on the rivers.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide

The most recent Valdosta data Continue reading →

Book: Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, Third Edition 2022-06-30

The Third Edition of Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia. is finally out, after perhaps-perfectionist Suzanne Welander worked on it seemingly forever, and it is worth the wait.

[Cover and inside]
Cover and inside

It is even more thorough than previous editions, with some new put-ins added Continue reading →

Alapahoochee Adventure, GA 135, 2022-07-09

Update 2023-01-26: Pictures: Many deadfalls, shark teeth, and rapids: Alapachoochee Adventure 2022-07-09.

A rugged adventure on a 3-mile obstacle course, not for beginners.

There is plenty of deadfall to pull over, under, and around, but this narrow stretche of the Alapahoochee River is knee-to-hip deep so getting in and out of boats isn’t difficult. Each boat needs a rope. There are 2 sets of low rapids that will require a rope to lower your kayak down. The water is too low to paddle through. Wear sturdy shoes for climbing through wet rocks. Bring your lightest and shortest boat.

You will be rewarded with beautiful scenery, a chance to find shark’s teeth in a side creek, paddle under one of the oldest surviving truss bridges in Florida, scramble down rapids, and cool off with a swim at Turket Falls.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 2 PM, Saturday, July 9, 2022

Put In: GA 135 Alapahoochee Landing. North side of road, left bank, 3/4 mile upstream of the GA-FL line and west of Pear Tree Lane, between Jennings and Statenville, in Echols County, Georgia.

GPS: 30.62845, -83.0893

Take Out: Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River.

Bring: short boat, rope, sturdy shoes, and the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Event: facebook, meetup

[Photo: Shirley Kokidko, Devil Shoal, 2022:06:23 12:29:43, 30.6106917, -83.0754861]
Photo: Shirley Kokidko, Devil Shoal, 2022:06:23 12:29:43, 30.6106917, -83.0754861

Continue reading →

Bad Knights Ferry, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-23

Update 2022-07-01: Bad Water Quality, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-30.

Update 2022-06-25: Plus Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers also clean, thanks to Pam Thomas and the TREPO crew.

Not good at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River: 1,333 cfu/100 mL E. coli, above the alert level of 1,000. That was a Thursday sample, so watch out downstream. This is puzzling, since there has been no rain to speak of. Also, no sewage spills have been reported in Georgia or Florida in the Suwannee River Basin. Yet chances are something came down Okapilco Creek from Brooks County, Georgia. Sure, it could have been wild hogs directly on the river, but that’s less likely. Maybe there was more rain in Brooks County than the stations we use reported. Or maybe there was a sewage spill that has not yet been reported.

Everywhere else tested by WWALS Thursday was good: Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers.

The most recent Valdosta downstream results were for Monday, and was clean. The most recent Valdosta upstream were for Friday (apparently Valdosta city staff took Monday off for the new Juneteenth holiday), and were also clean, after the high GA 133 results last week.

So I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River from Knights Ferry Boat Ramp on down this weekend. Elsewhere looks good for boating, swimming, and fishing.

Thundershowers are expected this weekend, so conditions could change rapidly.

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

Thanks to Continue reading →

Sunday: Paddle Sasser Landing to Jennings Bluff, Hike to Dead River Sink, Alapaha River, 2022-10-02

Update 2022-10-02: Directions: Sasser Landing and Jennings Bluff, Alapaha River 2022-10-02.

Rescheduled a day later, to Sunday, October 2, 2022. Yes, probably the fastest reschedule ever. Turns out that Saturday is the Hahira Honeybee Parade, and we don’t want to disappoint 25,000 of our closest friends. So Sunday, October 2nd it is for the Alapaha River paddle and Dead River Sink hike.

A two-hour paddle down the Alapaha River, and a two-hour hike roundtrip up the Dead River to the Dead River Sink and back, with Practicing Geologist Dennis Price. If the Alapaha is low enough, we will also see two sinks in that river just before the Dead River Confluence.

There is nothing else quite like this in Florida (or Georgia). Dennis Price for years has been recommending a state park here, at these jewels of the Alapaha River Water Trail. Hamilton County is making a county park nearby on land it owns.

The Dead River itself is a distributary: the Alapaha River runs into it, down into the Dead River Sink, and does not come back up for twenty miles and three days until the Alapaha River Rise on the Suwannee River.

[Say karst, 13:11:30, 30.5837121, -83.0531756]
Say karst, 13:11:30, 30.5837121, -83.0531756, 2018-01-27.

Continue reading →

Paddle Sasser Landing to Jennings Bluff, Hike to Dead River Sink, Alapaha River, 2022-10-01

Update 2022-06-20: Rescheduled a day later, to Sunday, October 2, 2022. Yes, probably the fastest reschedule ever. Turns out that Saturday is the Hahira Honeybee Parade, and we don’t want to disappoint 25,000 of our closest friends. So Sunday, October 2nd it is for the Alapaha River paddle and Dead River Sink hike.

A two-hour paddle down the Alapaha River, and a two-hour hike roundtrip up the Dead River to the Dead River Sink and back, with Practicing Geologist Dennis Price. If the Alapaha is low enough, we will also see two sinks in that river just before the Dead River Confluence.

There is nothing else quite like this in Florida (or Georgia). Dennis Price for years has been recommending a state park here, at these jewels of the Alapaha River Water Trail. Hamilton County is making a county park nearby on land it owns.

The Dead River itself is a distributary: the Alapaha River runs into it, down into the Dead River Sink, and does not come back up for twenty miles and three days until the Alapaha River Rise on the Suwannee River.

You can also paddle to the Rise on August 13, 2022.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 2 PM, Saturday, October 1, Sunday, October 2, 2022

Put In: Sasser Landing. Left bank, east of river, north of CR 150. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel east on CR 150; cross the Alapaha River; turn left onto NW 72 Court and follow to river.

GPS: 30.599562, -83.069828

Take Out: Jennings Bluff Landing. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel south on US 41 to NW 25 Lane; turn left; travel east to NW 82 Court and the entrance into the SRWMD Jennings Bluff tract; turn left and follow road to canoe launch.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. For the hike, boots and long pants: stickers and ticks.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Event: facebook, meetup

[Say karst, 13:11:30, 30.5837121, -83.0531756]
Say karst, 13:11:30, 30.5837121, -83.0531756, 2018-01-27.

Continue reading →

WWALS Thursday tests clean, but Valdosta bad Wednesday results for US 41 and GA 122, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-16

Update 2022-06-24: Bad Knights Ferry, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-23.

All WWALS Thursday samples tested clean. But Valdosta got very bad Wednesday results for US 41 and GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River. Maybe that has gotten diluted by now. But I’d avoid US 41, Langdale Park Boat Ramp, and downstream on the Withlacoochee from Troupville Boat Ramp for this weekend.

Elsewhere, happy boating, swimming, and fishing, so far as we can tell.

For example, come up to Reed Bingham State Park tomorrow (Saturday) for Juneteenth, where WWALS will be getting children (and adults) into boats, some for their first time.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2022-06-16]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2022-06-16

What happened at US 41 and GA 133? Continue reading →