Written as a newspaper letter to the editor and posted here with permission. -jsq
Dear Residents
Did you know Lanier County doesn’t have zoning laws. Which that mean
they can development on wetlands and on our Floridan Aquifer
Recharge zone and build resident houses, subdivided, commercial
building etc., cut timber on wetlands, on our watersheds and a
Natural Gas Company want to put a pipeline through on these precious
lands they can. It will destroy the land environment like our
Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone (aka our drinking water) and our
wetlands and our watersheds. Because it not protected like it
should.
Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone.
It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and
preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local
government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there
forever.
I notices they got those lands zone as Ag and V5 zone.
Which those zone doesn’t protect it and in fact it can destroy those
lands Eco system because they spray pesticide for there farm crops
near the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and wetlands, our
watersheds. It will Continue reading →
According to
their facebook page today,
a conservation group in Florida convinced Sabal Trail to steer clear
of their springs.
Or did they?
The “written assurances” they they got from Spectra’s Andrea Grover
say “preferred” and “currently”.
In any case, some of Ichetucknee Alliance’s positions are just as valid
in WWALS’ watersheds.
Maybe we need signs like that around here to remind
people that what goes into the ground comes out in our
drinking water.
For example,
San Antonio has its
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.
Maybe our local governments need to have
Floridan Aquifer Protection Programs.
Georgia state law seems to indicate they should.
(1) Background. Variable levels of recharge area protection can be
based upon the State’s hydrogeology (e.g., areas such as the
Dougherty Plain where a major aquifer crops out would receive a
relatively high degree of protection whereas other areas, such as
the shale hills of northwest Georgia, would receive a lower degree
of protection). Recharge area protection within the significant
recharge areas would be further refined, based upon the local
susceptibility or vulnerability to human induced pollution (e.g.,
high, medium, or low). The significant recharge areas have already
been identified and mapped (about 22-23% of the State). Pollution
susceptibility mapping is ongoing. Existing statutes are adequate
for protecting the remaining recharge areas (about 77-78% of the
State).
[…]
(2)(f)3. In the Coastal Plain, the significant recharge areas are Continue reading →
Update 3 March 2016: Suwannee River, ten rivers, and current location of USGS streamer.
The USGS Streamer interactive map
shows all (well, most) tributaries
of our two biggest WWALS rivers.
Visitors sometimes refer to our “four rivers”
since we only originally named four in our
WWALS mission:
Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little.
Yet we added the upper Suwannee, and there always were more than that:
from one to ten rivers, depending on how you count them.
The Withlacoochee River tributary map here shows
the New River south of Tifton joining the Withlacoochee between
Nashville and Adel.
The New River is rather important, since it forms half of the boundary between Cook
and Berrien Counties (the Withlacoochee River forms the other half): Continue reading →
Water issues strongly affect economic development, so I talked about
the new WWALS Watershed Coalition at the
16 April 2013 Board Meeting
of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.
The VDT declined to speak, so I did.
After apologizing for no okra today,
I commended the Authority for talking about the missing agenda items
and for mentioning due diligence and flood control.
WWALS board meetings are every second Wednesday of the month,
usually at the IHOP in Adel because it’s centrally located.
WWALS is communicating with Valdosta and
various organizations about
flooding and other watershed-wide issues, which in my opinion
have to do with things like too much clearcutting without
consideration for where the water goes, too much development
without consideration for what the impervious surface would do,
(to my surprise, the Executive Director and several board
members nodded along with that)
so it was good to hear them mention flood containment.
Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland, Chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton, Attorney, Tom Davis, CPA, Allan Ricketts, Project Manager,S. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Lu Williams, Operations Manager,
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 April 2013.
Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll spoke about the need for watershed-wide
planning to reduce flooding and provide water for agriculture with
distributed flood containment reservoirs.
He
referred to
the
materials he sent in advance
as well as to some additional data about water quality measurements
upstream and downstream of selected points.
And he sent an update the next day.
Valdosta City Council member Tim Carroll will speak tonight
at the monthly WWALS Watershed Coalition board meeting
at 7:30 PM at the IHOP in Adel (exit 39 from I-75, 1200 W 4th St, Adel, GA, 229-896-2662); the public is invited.
In advance he sent the appended letter from the City of Valdosta
to the Army Corps of Engineers requesting assistance related to
flooding and droughts.
March 11, 2013
William Bailey
Chief of Planning Division
US Army Corps of Engineers – Savannah District Office
100 W. Oglethorpe Avenue
Savannah, Georgia 31401
Dear Mr. Bailey,
Over the last several years, the City of Valdosta and neighboring
communities have been severely impacted by the increase of flood
events that have occurred throughout our region and particularly the
drainage basin we are located in. The city recognizes the various
levels of responsibility throughout government agencies for flood
management and flood control and is interested in furthering the
discussions to understand the changes that are occurring and to
ensure the protection of our communities from future flood events.
In February 2009, the city began updating its 1996 Master Stormwater
Management Plan. In April, just two months later, our county along
with 46 counties in south Georgia, experienced historic flooding and
were declared disaster areas. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) reported
The
“official” event is off because of the weather. However, if you
want to see the location, gather at Gary Rampley’s, past Mullins
Lane at 6974 Old State Road and park in his yard and then walk to
the River (less than .2 miles) at 1:00. Meet others who like a
cold, rainy outing.
Or, at 2:00pm meet at Let’s Eat Cafe (Exit 18 from I75—across
from Austin’s Steak House at the Shell Station) to discuss
strategies for keeping access to the Alapaha River in Lowndes
County.
Our local hosts still want to meet up with interested folks and for
those not up to braving the weather, we will be indoors at Let’s Eat
(an excellent local place to meet and eat).
Letter from WWALS to Lowndes County Commission, signed Friday, mailed Saturday;
the hearing is 5:30 PM today 12 February 2013, 327 North Ashley Street 2nd floor, Valdosta, GA.
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
327 North Ashley Street
Valdosta, GA 31601
Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone. It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there forever.
