Yesterday evening around 6:20 PM, the Little Alapaha River still had water in it, under US 41.
And the Alapaha River, where it often is dry, was flowing fast under US 41, in Action Stage at 78.22 NAVD88 on the Jennings Gauge.
Both in Hamilton County, Florida. Continue reading
Update 2024-05-17: Dirty Withlacoochee and Alapaha River and creeks 2024-05-15.
Update 2024-05-16: Quitman also reports no spills after the recent rains.
After two, three, and four inches of rain added up on Monday and Tuesday across south Georgia and parts of north Florida, the good news is no sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
![[No spills reported, after rains 2024-05-15, Suwannee River Basin, Georgia and Florida]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-05-15--no-spills-reported/fbmany.jpg)
No spills reported, after rains 2024-05-15, Suwannee River Basin, Georgia and Florida
Sometimes it takes days for spills to show up in the GA-EPD and FDEP online reports, so I called Valdosta, Lowndes County, and Quitman.
Valdosta Utilities says they had no spills or overflows.
Lowndes County Utilities says they had no spills.
Quitman City Hall says as far as they have heard they have had no spills, but they referred me to their utilities contractor, ESG Engineering. I called the ESG number City Hall gave me, and left a message with the person who answered, but I have not heard back from ESG yet about sewage spills.
Update 2024-05-16: Scott Fowler of ESG called back. He says Quitman had no sewage spills with the recent rains.
This does not mean the rivers are clean. We do not know, because nobody has sampled yet since the rains. Valdosta now only samples once a week on Wednesdays, so they presumably drew their samples today and will post their results Thursday or Friday. WWALS samples on Wednesday or Thursday, and our results (and Valdosta’s) will go in the WWALS Friday water quality report, as usual.
Often after big rains, contamination washes into the rivers from other sources, including agriculture, livestock, wildlife, septic tanks, and domestic pets.
However, with this much rain, there is a good chance any such contamination has already been diluted and washed downstream. But we do not know.
If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester, please fill out the form:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
Meanwhile, as you can see on the NOAA river levels map, the upstream Suwannee River has hardly risen, so that’s good for the WWALS outing this Saturday, Turner Bridge Ramp to Cone Bridge Ramp Suwannee River Paddle 2024-05-18. Depending, of course, on the rain predicted for Saturday. Continue reading
Update 2024-05-12: Pictures: Mayday to Statenville, Alapaha River 2024-05-11.
Join us for a 14.55-mile paddle from sandy-slope Mayday to fancy-ramp Statenville on the Alapaha River, both in Echols County, Georgia. Water levels should be just right!
When: Gather 8 AM, launch 9 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, May 11, 2024
Put In: Mayday Landing, 749 Howell Road, Stockton, GA 31649. left bank, east side of the Alapaha River, south of Howell Road, north of the railroad bridge, in Echols County, Georgia.
GPS: 30.82827, -83.017179
![[Mayday Landing to Statenville 2024-05-11, Alapaha River, Shawn O'Connor]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-05-11--mayday-statenville-alapaha-river/fbmany.jpg)
Mayday Landing to Statenville 2024-05-11, Alapaha River, Shawn O’Connor
Update 2024-05-04: Clean rivers and some creeks, but rain 2024-05-02.
Update 2024-05-03: Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills 2024-04-11.
This week, the rivers that have been tested were clean: Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe.
This is despite a Wednesday inland High Springs sewage spill of 1,500 gallons.
And clean even in the aftermath of all the spills of last week. There is more about sewage spills below, including that Valdosta did test the Friday and Saturday of the big spill, and the Withlacoochee River was filthy then.
But it’s clean now, and water levels are coming down in all the rivers. So if you don’t mind still a bit high and fast, happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.
Testing at State Line by Madison Health and FDEP on Wednesday last week corroborated the WWALS result for the previous day. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) also tested downstream at CR 150 (Sullivan Launch) and at FL 6, and all three sites again Thursday, getting clean results each time. That corroborated the WWALS result for Holly Point downstream on that Thursday.
Madison Health has not yet withdrawn its health advisory for the Withlacoochee River, but I imagine it probably will the next time they or FDEP test.
And it turns out Valdosta is posting on its website the results of the testing it is required to do by the Georgia Environmental Pro Division (GA-EPD) after each major spill. None of Quitman, Tifton, Rochelle, Ashburn, or Homerville are posting their results, so that’s a good thing Valdosta is doing.
Those Valdosta results for this Wednesday and last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday also corroborate the WWALS results at US 84 and GA 133.
As noted last week, apparently the massive flow of the river from the rains diluted or washed the contamination downstream.
But Valdosta got very different results for Friday April 12, and Saturday April 13. Continue reading
Trash cleanups are good, but you wouldn’t clean up after a sewer spill and do nothing to stop it from happening again. You wouldn’t be happy with any city or county that let spills keep happening.
You can help stop trash from getting into our waterways by getting cities to enforce trash ordinances about parking lots and trash cans, by getting trash traps installed on creeks, and by asking for single-use packaging bans and bottle bills. Start by bringing your own reusable grocery bags, but don’t stop there.
The Global Earth Day theme for 2024 is Our Planet Versus Plastics.
Styrofoam and other plastics are not just an eyesore. These plastics from Valdosta and elsewhere entering the watersheds are breaking down and getting into all aspects of the environment. Animals eat them, and cannot digest them. Children play in creeks with this stuff. Adults don’t want to boat on rivers with floating trashjams. It’s hard to promote eco-tourism without fixing the trash problem. Sure, we go clean it out of the rivers, and you can help us with that, but that alone is not enough. Continue reading
Update 2024-04-26: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25.
Update 2024-04-18: Dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17.
The Tuesday and Wednesday GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports provide updates about the spills during and after last week’s thunderstorms.
Tifton’s biggest spill was 40,400 gallons, which is four times the limit for a major spill, and GA-EPD still is confused about where it was.
Rochelle’s spill was only 3,000 gallons. No sewage spill is a good spill, but at least that one was small.
Quitman had three, not two, spills, although they were all small and not near Okapilco Creek.
We guessed correctly where the Homerville spill was.
And while latitudes and longitudes appeared again briefly, many of them are inaccurate, for Tifton, and especially for Valdosta. Even Valdosta’s 6.7 million gallon WWTP spill has slightly wrong latitude and longitude.
We know where they all were, and WWALS has been doing some water quality testing. Stay tuned for results.
![[Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-16-17]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-11--tifton-quitman-rochelle-valdosta-sewage-spill-reports/many.jpg)
Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-16-17
The Tuesday report provides 5,000 gallons for the Rochelle spill.
For the Tifton spills, it provides Continue reading
Come see prescribed fire, basket making, longleaf pine trees, snakes, lizards, frogs, and eat food cooked on the spot.
When: Gather 12 PM, launch 1 PM, end 5 PM, Saturday, April 20, 2024
Put In: Gaskins Forest Education Center, 3359 Moore Sawmill Rd., Alapaha, Georgia 31622
![[WWALS Booth at A Day in the Woods 2024-04-20, Gaskins Forest Education Center, Alapaha, Georgia]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-20--a-day-in-the-woods/fbmany.jpg)
WWALS Booth at A Day in the Woods 2024-04-20, Gaskins Forest Education Center, Alapaha, Georgia
Update 2024-04-05: Apparently clean rivers after rain 2024-04-04.
We got bad results for Thursday for the Alapaha River. We have few other results, but we know there was much rain Wednesday and Thursday, and that usually washes contamination into the rivers.
If I were you, I would pick something else to do this weekend instead of boating, swimming, or fishing.
Also, Ashburn had yet another spill, although that was probably too far upstream to have much effect. It sure looks like there was some sort of overflow from the city of Alapaha wastewater treatment plant, even though none has yet shown up in the reports.
Instead, join us a week from Saturday for Withlacoochee River Earth Day Cleanup, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-04-13.
Valdosta’s most recent upstream Withlacoochee River results are for Wednesday a week ago. Apparently they did not post their Wednesday results for this week because today is a holiday.
Similarly, most of the usual WWALS testers are off because of the holiday weekend.
![[Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-28--wq/many.jpg)
Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28
There are no Valdosta Monday results, because, Continue reading
Update 2024-03-29: Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28.
We got good results for Wednesday for the Withlacoochee River and Alapaha Rivers. and for Thursday for the Alapaha River.
Valdosta’s recent upstream Withlacoochee River results for Wednesday are good, all two sites.
![[Chart, Clean Rivers, Map 2024-03-20]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-20--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Clean Rivers, Map 2024-03-20
There are no Valdosta Monday results, because, as we learned last week from Acting Utilities Director Jason Barnes, “we are collecting once a week.”
As previously noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023. Since for two weeks now Valdosta has reported “No Sample” for North Valdosta Road, we guess they’re not collecting there any more, either.
Perhaps it is not coincidental that it is now three years (minus one month) since the March, 2020, GA-EPD Consent Order on Valdosta that required downstream testing as a way to reduce the amount of the fine.
It rained today, and more is predicted for tomorrow. That may wash some contamination into the rivers. I’d recommend the Suwannee, Alapaha, or Santa Fe Rivers for this weekend.
For example, join Shirley Kokidko and others Sunday, Suwannee River Wilderness Paddle, Griffis Fish Camp to Fargo 2024-03-24.
The rivers are at pretty good paddling levels, and it’s not cold. So watch the weather, bring rain gear, and happy paddling, fishing, and maybe swimming this weekend. Continue reading
Update 2024-03-27: Last days to oppose GA HB 1146, the rich private water system bill 2024-03-27.
Help stop the Georgia legislature from passing bad bills in a rush before it ends Wednesday.
The former fake dragline mining moratorium that failed got pasted onto another bill, SB 132. Although you cannot even see the current text on the Georgia legislature web page, this slapped-in bill still has too many restrictions on appeals and would do nothing to stop the currently proposed mine or any other mine using different mining methods.
Here’s how to contact your Georgia Senate member:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-senate/
Here’s how to contact your Georgia House member:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-house/
Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends and relatives to do this.
HB 1172 says people can boat or fish on “navigable” rivers, but doesn’t say they can step ashore, even if they capsize. The previous poorly-fashioned bill to define navigable did not pass, so HB 1172 would also leave the possibility of streams long used for boating and fishing getting closed off by private property owners according to Georgia’s antiquated 1863 definition of navigable. Also, removing any mention of the public trust doctrine is not a good idea. Continue reading
![[Little Alapaha River, @ US 41 2024-05-25, Alapaha River in Action Stage @ US 41, 78.22 NAVD88 Jennings Gauge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-05-25--little-alapaha-river/igmany.jpg)
![[Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25; Filthy Withlacoochee River & creeks 2024-04-12, 2024-04-13]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-25--wq/many.jpg)
![[Earth Day 2024, Planet vs. Plastics 2024-04-20, Trash cans, Trash traps, cleanups, Plastic bans and bottle bills]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-20--earth-day/fbmany.jpg)
![[Help oppose bad Georgia bills HB 1146 rich man's water system, HB 1172 river trespass, and SB 132 fake Okefenokee moratorium]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-25--bad-ga-bills/many.jpg)