Tag Archives: Alapaha River

Naylor Boat Ramp on schedule by Lowndes County

Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter says the Naylor Boat Ramp is on schedule for completion this fall, provided the Georgia Department of Natural Resources returns the appropriate permits.

At last night’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Sesssion, WWALS president John S. Quarterman displayed the Alapaha River Water Trail brochures, pointing out the Naylor Boat Ramp on the map. He, ok, I, asked what was the status of that project that Lowndes County is building with SPLOST funds.

Nobody answered in the public meeting, but afterwards Continue reading →

Update: Sabal Trail Pipeline, Alapaha, Suwannee, and Withlacoochee Rivers, WWALS Outing 2015-08-15

Update 2015-08-14: Now plus Five Holes caves at Suwannee River State Park!

This flag marks where Sabal Trail plans to drill under the Suwannee River, pictured today by Chris Mericle, who also pictured a number spraypainted on a tree and remarked:

I know it is a small thing but, it is this lack of respect for nature that we will be forced to endure if this pipeline is permitted.

With FL DEP proposing to issue a permit for Sabal Trail, let’s go investigate, and have some fun at the same time.

First we’ll look at the Alapaha Rise, which is where some of the water that disappears from the Alapaha River at its sinks comes back up out of the Floridan Aquifer. To get to the Rise we paddle upstream on the Suwannee River, then Continue reading →

WWALS adds Upper Suwannee as territory

The Upper Suwannee River is new to the WWALS Mission. WWALS Watershed Coalition, a WATERKEEPER® Affiliate, applied in July to WATERKEEPER® Alliance to add that new territory, which was approved 15 July 2015.

Three years ago when WWALS was forming, we decided not to include the Upper Suwannee at that time, because we wanted time to solidify WWALS as an organization in its smaller territory of the watersheds of the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers and all their tributaries. Even then, we put the S in WWALS so it could be redefined to mean Suwannee, so our acronym would expand to Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, and Suwannee River watersheds.

WWALS now asks Waterkeeper to add Upper Suwannee HUC 03110201 to WWALS territory.

HUC is United States Geological Survey (USGS) jargon for Hydrologic Unit Code. Upper Suwannee HUC 03110201 is everything from the Withlacoochee Confluence upstream that drains into the Suwannee River. This 2720 square miles: Continue reading →

Clarified WWALS mission

This clarification of the WWALS Mission was adopted by the WWALS Board at its 8 July 2015 Board Meeting:

300x376 WWALS Rivers (small), in WWALS Rivers, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 25 July 2015 WWALS Watershed Coalition advocates for conservation and stewardship of the
Withlacoochee,
Willacoochee,
Alapaha,
Little, and Upper
Suwannee River
watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida through awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

For what each of those terms means, and how they relate to the Goals for 2015 adopted at the same meeting, see Explanation.

To help WWALS accomplish these goals to further its mission, you can join WWALS today!

-jsq

Florida lists WWALS for Alapaha River Water Trail

The Florida Department of Greenways and Trails now links to WWALS for the Alapaha River Water Trail. Chris Mericle, who negotiated this for WWALS, says:

This action will shine a brighter and wider light on WWALS, anyone searching the Greenways and Trails website and clicks on the ARWT will be directed to WWALS.

Follow the link to see.

We’re also looking for pictures Continue reading →

GA 135 Alapaha River Cleanup 2015-09-26

It’s the annual WWALS Adopt-A-Stream cleanup, this time at GA 135 on the Atkinson County side of the Alapaha River, plus if there’s time, the Berrien County side.

When: 9AM Saturday September 26th 2015

Where: Continue reading →

WWALS Water Trails at Southern Georgia Regional Commission Council 2015-07-23

WWALS Ambassador Dave Hetzel will speak about the Alapaha River Water Trail (now looking to place signs) and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (Committee just formed and looking for more members) at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission Council meeting 11AM July 23rd in Pearson, GA 31642.

Update 2015-07-23: Civic Center, 786 Austin Ave. East, Pearson, GA

According to New Georgia Encyclopedia, Continue reading →

Agricultural land bought by west coast investors

Investment firms owned by Bill Gates have bought thousands of acress of agricultural land in counties in or near WWALS watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida, all above the Floridan Aquifer, near the Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Withlacoochee, and Suwannee Rivers, as part of a nationwide buying spree of a quarter million acres.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve found thus far. Any more recent posts should be found through this search.

These purchases of hundreds and thousands of contiguous acres are all after Bill Gates announced in 2012 he was going to “fix” agriculture in conjunction with Monsanto and Syngenta.

And it’s not just Bill Gates. Continue reading →

EPA coal plant emission limits still in place during legal cost review

Justice Scalia never said the EPA emissions rule was struck down, rather the Supreme Court sent it back to a lower court to get a cost analysis from EPA. 300x305 Mercury, in Improving Air Quality in Georgia, by Georgia Power, 30 June 2015 Meanwhile, many of the emissions controls are already in place on coal plants (including Plant Scherer), other coal plants have closed or are closing, and investors are abandoning coal in droves. So what Scalia wants may or may not be impossible for EPA to deliver, but EPA actually already has helped sink dirty coal. Meanwhile, Georgia Power finally is helping the sun rise on Georgia. So the prognosis is good for less mercury in the Alapaha River.

Emily Atkin, ThinkProgress Climate, 29 June 2015, What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About The Supreme Court’s Mercury Pollution Ruling, Continue reading →

Supreme Court rules on cost against EPA coal plant emission limitations

The EPA should account for all costs before making a ruling on mercury or other coal plant emissions, according to a 5:4 majority of the Supreme Court. The dissenting minority points out not only are costs usually figured in during the follow-on process for specific limits, but that actual costs can’t even be computed without knowing those limits. So Coal Plant Scherer mercury in the Alapaha River can’t be limited without figuring all the costs first, says the SCOTUS majority, although EPA and the Court minority point to numerous well-known medical problems caused by mercury. Are profits for a few big utilities and coal companies more important than clean water and public health, especially now that there are cleaner, safer, faster-to-build, and less expensive renewable energy sources available in solar and wind power?

According to today’s SCOTUS ruling, Continue reading →