Dr. Ken Sulak, USGS, Retired, sent us some things to look for as we paddle the last stretch of the Alapaha River on February 5, 2022.
![[Pictures and Maps, Lower Alapaha River Bridges]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-08--history-last-stretch-alapaha-river/many.jpg)
Pictures and Maps, Lower Alapaha River Bridges
For your upcoming [5] Feb Alapaha adventure, some of your folks might be interested in the history of three crossing sites you will encounter. So, here you go very briefly: Continue reading
Update 2021-12-18 Good up and down water quality, Withlacoochee River 2021-12-16.
Odd bad results upstream, at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, and at Folsom Bridge (GA 122) on the Little River Clean downstream, though. Last time we saw high Valdosta results for GA 133, they never showed up downstream.
So I’d swim, fish, or boat on the Withlacoochee River this weekend, although not at GA 133, and I’d avoid Folsom Bridge on the Little River.
Valdosta’s Wednesday results for GA 133 are way too high, and Fecal coliform was also high for US 41.
Elizabeth Brunner’s Thursday results for Folsom Bridge on the Little River were above the 410 one-time E. coli limit, which is very unusual for that location. But her other two GA 122 sites, at Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River and at Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, were well within limits.
Downstream, Jacob and Michael Bachrach got good Thursday results at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps, and Gus Cleary the same for Wednesday at Cleary Bluff below Allen Ramp, all on the Withlacoochee River. Gus also tested last Friday, and got nothing out of the ordinary, after Valdosta last saw high results at GA 133 for Wednesday a week ago. Continue reading
Update 2022-02-06: Pictures: last stretch of the Alapaha River 2022-02-05.
Update 2022-02-01: Expedition leader Shirley Kokidko paddled this stretch, and reports back: “There is limited room for vehicles at the put-in so everyone needs to park up by the highway and carry kayaks down to the river. It is muddy and slippery at the launch. I would not recommend this outing for beginners due to alot of strainers and deadfall in the river with a good current also pushing you along. The water is cold and it is predicted to be a cool day so bring a change of clothes, just in case. Today we saw an eagle, feral hogs, turtles and a lot of ducks.”
Update 2021-12-15: History of Alapaha River Bridges, US 41 to Nobles Ferry –Ken Sulak 2021-12-08.
Paddle it while there’s water; much of the year the Alapaha River is dry down here, at the bottom of the Alapaha River Water Trail.
We’ll also paddle slightly upstream on the Suwannee River to the Alapaha River Rise, which is where the water comes back up from the Dead River Sink when the riverbed is dry in between.
We are dependant on the kindness of the winter wet season. If the Alapaha is dry at this date, we will reschedule until it has water.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, February 5, 2022
Put In: US 41 Alapaha River Landing. South side of the road, under the power line, between Jennings and Jasper, FL, in Hamilton County.
Take Out: Gibson Park Boat Ramp, 6844 SW CR 751, Jasper, FL 32052. Right bank, west side of the Suwannee River. From Jasper, Hamilton County, FL, travel southwest on SW CR 249 to SW CR 751; turn left and boat ramp is on the right in Gibson Park, in Hamilton County.
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.
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/#join
![[Bridge, Alapaha River, US 41]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-02-05--last-stretch-alapaha-river/many.jpg)
Bridge, Alapaha River, US 41.
Photos: Bobby McKenzie,
2021-05-07.
Years in the making by VLPRA, received in response to a WWALS open records request, this new Parks & Rec. Master Plan adds to the traditional team sports strategy new strategies including “STRATEGY 6: IMPROVE ACCESS AND AMENITIES TO THE COUNTY’S RIVERS,” involving land acquisition and for not just one but for a chain of river camps.
They incorporated all of WWALS Vision for water quality and access in Lowndes County, Georgia 2021-03-01. Continue reading
Update 2021-12-03: Good Withlacoochee River water quality except GA 133 2021-12-02.
The Withlacoochee still tested clean for Saturday. No rain is expected for the next ten days except possibly a bit on Friday. So the rivers will probably stay clean.
Have fun fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend and week.
Jacob and Michael Bachrach tested at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps Saturday, and got clean results at all three.
This confirms our clean report from Wednesday and Thursday WWALS test results.
Also, it’s great that people love our water trail signs, but please stop shooting at them, painting on them, and stealing them. They’re there to help people enjoy the rivers and keep them clean. Continue reading
Update 2021-11-21: Clean rivers still 2021-11-20.
Another clean week! Have fun fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend. Well, swimming if it warms up.
The most E. coli WWALS testers found was 200 cfu/100 mL for Thursday at Folsom Bridge Landing @ GA 122 on the Little River. That’s well below the 400 cfu/100 mL one-time sample limit. Thanks to Elizabeth Brunner for that location and for zeroes at Hagan Bridge Landing on the Withlacoochee River and Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, both also on GA 122.
Valerie Folsom also got zero for Wednesday at Willacoochee Landing @ GA 135 on the Alapaha River.
Gus Cleary got a very low 33 for Wednesday at Cleary Bluff, downstream from Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River.
Thanks to the WWALS testers and to WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall for herding the cats.
Valdosta’s Monday upstream results were also clean. Continue reading
Update 2021-11-20: Clean rivers again 2021-11-18.
As far as we know from the water quality results we have, happy swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!
WWALS ran a skeleton crew this week, because there’s been no rain, and we did not expect any contamination. Didn’t find any, either. Valdosta’s results through Monday also were clean.
![[Chart + Folsom + Lakeland; Hagan, charts, Cleary Bluff; Map: Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-11-13--wq/many.jpg)
Chart + Folsom + Lakeland; Hagan, charts, Cleary Bluff; Map: Swim Guide
Are there any database programmers in the house? We have far too many manual steps collecting the numerous sources of water quality data and rainfall into the WWALS composite spreadsheet, and also over to Swim Guide and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. We hear Valdosta suffers from the same delay in getting data into their online table. If anybody wants to help collect these sources from various formats, record them in a database, and pull them back out into various other formats, please contact us.
Or maybe you’d like to get trained to join our testing crew?
This week, Gus Cleary tested both Sunday and Wednesday at Cleary Bluff, downstream from Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River, and got good results each time. (Gus would like zero every time, but that’s not likely.)
Upstream, Elizabeth Brunner got clean results for Thursday on GA 122 at Folsom Bridge on the Little River, Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River, and Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River. Continue reading
Update 2021-11-13: Clean rivers 2021-11-13.
All pretty clean for Thursday and Wednesday samples on the Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers, but there were big rains Friday, so expect the same kind of contamination today and tomorrow that happened a week ago after similar rains. I’d wait a few days before boating, swimming, or fishing in the Withlacoochee River.
![[Chart, Folsom, Hagan; Lakeland, Cleary Bluff; Knights Ferry, Nankin, State Line; Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-11-04--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Folsom, Hagan; Lakeland, Cleary Bluff; Knights Ferry, Nankin, State Line; Swim Guide
None of the WWALS results for Thursday were zero, but they’re all well below the 410 cfu/100 mL one-time limit.
We have Valdosta downstream results through last Friday. Once again Valdosta results corroborate WWALS results. It’s interesting that last Thursday’s rain contamination had reached Nankin but not State Line by last Friday morning. The Valdosta Okapilco Creek results indicates much of that contamination is probably the usual cattle manure runoff coming out of Brooks County. It’s still lower than the results from last year under similar conditions, so whatever the cattle farmers are doing seems to be working, with room for more improvement. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-09: Pictures: Dead River Sink 2021-11-07.
Saturday is rain all day and cold, so we’re going for 2PM this Sunday, November 7, 2021, when it should be 60 degrees with zero percent chance of rain.
Join us for an approximately three-mile hike down the Dead River to the Dead River Sink, where the Alapaha River goes underground much of the year. We will be led by Practicing Geologist Dennis J. Price of Hamilton County, Florida. He will explain the geology, and how unusual this place is: there’s nothing like it in Florida (or Georgia).
This is a hike: no boat is needed. (Also, SRWMD has made a road right to the Sink, if you don’t want to hike.)
Also, time permitting, on the way out we will park at Jennings Bluff Cemetery and look at the nearby Jennings Bluff Spring.
![[Karst limestone cracks by the Alapaha River, Dead River, Sink, Dennis J. Price]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-07-10--hike-dead-river-sink/many.jpg)
Karst limestone cracks by the Alapaha River, Dead River, Sink, Dennis J. Price
When: Gather 2:00 PM, launch 2:15 PM, end 5:15 PM, Sunday, November 7, 2021
Put In: Jennings Bluff Launch. 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 Suwannee River Water Management District’s Jennings Bluff tract; turn left and follow road to canoe launch.
GPS:
30.567183, -83.038911
You’re aiming for the Jennings Bluff Tract entrance. Continue reading
See the Alapaha River for yourself, in these 360-degree views, on Earthviews, taken in August 2021 by WWALS member Bobby McKenzie.
That’s 19.17 river miles, on August 10, 2021. Continue reading
![[Chart, Rivers, Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-09--wq/many.jpg)
![[Collage]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-31--vlpra-master-plan-full/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-11-20--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-11-18--wq/many.jpg)
![[Willacoochee Landing, overhanging branches, GA & FL RR, mile marker, beach, Lakeland Boat Ramp; ARWT map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-19--earthviews-alapaha-river/many.jpg)