Tag Archives: Alapahoochee River

Pictures: Alapahoochee River Cleanup 2026-05-30

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We started at Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River and paddled up the Alapahoochee River, chainsawing passage through several deadfalls, 0.86 river miles up to Devil Shoal, on this May 30, 2026, WWALS river outing.

[Pictures: Alapahoochee River Cleanup, Turket Creek Waterfall, Passage Chainsawed from Sasser Landing up to Devil Shoal 2026-05-30]
Pictures: Alapahoochee River Cleanup, Turket Creek Waterfall, Passage Chainsawed from Sasser Landing up to Devil Shoal 2026-05-30

There was no way to even walk up past Devil Shoal anymore, after Hurricane Helene and numerous other storms. So we turned back, also to get ahead of the predicted thunderstorm.

Of course we stopped at Turket Creek Waterfall, where some dipped in the river and others hiked up the bank.

As we neared Sasser Landing again, our expedition leader Kyle “Bird” Chamberlain summed it up, “We did as much as we could, as long as we could.”

We’ll be back at a later date, to start higher up the Alapahoochee, when the water level gets appropriate again.

Here are some video snippets:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2099033114344650/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZscx7QopwX/

https://youtu.be/hMuKMrxxLDk Continue reading →

Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13

We’ll paddle through a couple of shoals, known as Jennings Defeat: have a tow rope on your boat. There are a few small waterfalls along this stretch from Georgia into Florida.

The takeout is near the confluence of the Alapahoochee & Alapaha Rivers so you have the opportunity to paddle up to Turkett Creek Waterfall before leaving. It’s a real treat!

This 10.36 mile paddle is not recommended for beginners due to deadfall in the river to weave through and lack of level ground to get out of your kayak; there are high banks along this section.

Beware that the last time we did this stretch as a WWALS outing, two people ended up getting married.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 2:30 PM, Saturday, June 13, 2026

Put In: Statenville Boat Ramp, 206 GA 94 West, Statenville, GA 31648, right bank, west of river, north of highway bridge, in Echols County.

GPS: 30.704437, -83.03468

[Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13, Jennings Defeat Shoals, Turket Creek Waterfall]
Statenville to Sasser Landing, Alapaha River 2026-06-13, Jennings Defeat Shoals, Turket Creek Waterfall

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Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

Published with permission, here is what Dr. Bob Knight ferreted out from USGS and the WMDs about groundwater pumping.

You’d think they would publish this information, but since they didn’t, WWALS is.

These slides (PowerPoint or PDF) don’t say anything about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the WMD and JEA plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin, but this is the groundwater background to WFNF.

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

[Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse --Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09]
Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

He sent these slides to various environmentalists on May 9, 2026, with this note. I asked him later in person if he minded WWALS publishing. He said go ahead.

All

Attached is an updated summary of Florida groundwater wells, permits, and reported extraction quantities from the Floridan aquifer. All data were provided by the water management districts and the USGS. But the summaries of those reams of data are my work and may not be complete and accurate in all cases. Surprisingly, the WMDs have differing data bases and few detailed summaries of these data. For now, I believe these may be the best data summaries out there. Historically (up to 2015) Richard Marella formerly with USGS reported a lot of Floridan aquifer detailed/summary data every five years. That important contribution ended in 2015 and there is no sign that it will be picked back up by the state or the USGS.

The inconvenient truth is that all groundwater extractions reduce spring flows and that data analysis indicates that the ratio is almost one to one. Measured spring flow reductions closely mirror these reported pumping totals and differ widely from groundwater flow model estimates.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Bob

Continue reading →

Alapahoochee River Cleanup 2026-05-30

Update 2026-06-17: Pictures: Alapahoochee River Cleanup 2026-05-30.

Update 2026-05-28: Changed put-in to Sasser Landing and start time to 10 AM.

Join us for a river cleanup including many deadfalls (we will have chainsaws), some interesting creeks, an old steel bridge, some rapids, and Turket Creek Waterfall.

There are too many deadfalls to get them all, so we’re going to start at Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River and paddle up the Alapahoochee River. When we decide we’re done we can float downstream with the current. Plus, no shuttle.

If the water remains really low, be sure to have a rope on the front of your boat for dragging it across sandbars and shoals.

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 10:30 AM, end 5 PM, Saturday, May 30, 2026

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 the Alapaha River in Hamilton County.

GPS: 30.599562, -83.069828

[Alapahoochee River Cleanup, Deadfalls and Rapids 2026-05-30, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek WaterFall]
Alapahoochee River Cleanup, Deadfalls and Rapids 2026-05-30, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek WaterFall

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Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2026-04-12

Here is the draft agenda and the zoom parameters for the WWALS Quarterly Board meeting Sunday evening, April 12, 2026.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89308028204?pwd=VmwyMzVTMVR6WGJxbUFUSlFXWFRWQT09

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 6:00 PM, Sunday, April 12, 2026

What: The usual board business.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1630092761633059/

[Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees]
Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees

Here is the agenda (see also Continue reading →

Petition: Data Center Due Diligence 2026-03-31

We the undersigned insist on the following:

No datacenters without at least transparency, a datacenter ordinance, due diligence, public hearings, closed-loop cooling, siting away from waterbodies and neighborhoods, a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) study, and a bond in case of premature closing.

The petition:

https://c.org/9FndqzS4dq

[Petition, Lowndes County, GA: Data Center Due Diligence, Withlacoochee River, Mud Swamp Creek]
Petition, Lowndes County, GA: Data Center Due Diligence, Withlacoochee River, Mud Swamp Creek

  1. Local governments need to pass a moratorium on datacenter applications until they have a comprehensive datacenter ordinance.
  2. Local governments need to pass good data center ordinances before considering any application.
  3. Local governments need to do their due diligence, with independent third-party evidence, not just believe what data center companies tell them.
  4. Local governments need to initiate a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) study for any datacenter of sufficient size.
  5. State governments need to prohibit data centers and electric utilities from passing on power costs to other ratepayers.
  6. Local, state, and national governments need to stop passing tax rebates and other favoritism for an industry owned by billionaires.
  7. All needs to be with continual citizen input.
  8. With all the local business parks, no datacenter should be next to a waterbody or a neighborhood.

Everyone needs to consider that the so-called artificial intelligence (AI) industry may be a bubble and putting too many eggs in one basket for jobs and tax revenue is not prudent when the bubble may pop at any time.

For much more information, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat 2026-03-23

We aim to clear a wide and deep enough passage for canoes, kayaks, and jon boats. Sometimes we will clear more if it’s obviously going to just fall back into the passage, or if it will be a problem at a different water level. But we remove only what we must.

We leave most of the rest as habitat for fish, turtles, otters, birds, and other wildlife. Shade, eddies, pools, and general variation in river flow result; all good for wildlife. You may notice that experienced fishers often cast near woody debris for this reason.

[WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat, 2026-03-23]
WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups clear passage, leaving habitat, 2026-03-23

As a reminder, to join WWALS on any river outing you must listen to the safety lecture and sign the insurance waiver. Every person in a boat, no matter their age or size or experience, must wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD).

Here are more than 50 examples of WWALS chainsaw cleanups:

https://wwals.net/outings/chainsaw-cleanups/

You can see plenty of habitat beyond where TJ is sawing in this picture. Continue reading →

Two wells, a lift station, water meters, and drainage eminent domain @ LCC 2026-01-26

Update 2026-01-26: Videos: Water treatment upgrade because GA-EPD Consent Order, Lift Station Pump Repair, Condemnation along Twin Lakes Road, VAWA, Extension Office, Red Cross @ LCC Work 2026-01-26.

Lowndes County is under a GA-EPD Consent Order about drinking water for a well near Pine Grove Middle School. They did try for multiple bids to fix that but only got one.

And they’re fixing a sewage lift station near Ocean Pond in Lake Park. Before it breaks: good. It’s a sole source bid, though.

The Consent Order is revealed by the agenda packet page for 5.a. Spring Creek Water Treatment Plant Design Build Project. Neither the board packet materials nor the ad for bids mentions where this is. However, previous research indicates it’s the well with water tower at 4245 Hattie Pl, Valdosta, GA 31605, near a creek that runs west by Pine Grove Middle School to the Withlacoochee River.

They will vote on spending $214,412.00 on the Spring Creek plant. Which also mysteriously includes “add a lift station.” Lift stations usually refer to sewer lines, and Lowndes County’s sewer lines do not go up Hattie Place to the well site. Maybe an open records request for the Consent Order will clarify that.

And another $24,400.00 on a sewage pump repair at the Peterson Road Lift Station. The packet materials don’t say where that is, either, but it appears to be in the southeast corner of 6201 Peterson Road (the Home Depo Distribution Center), east of the I-75 Georgia Visitor Center. The sign on the fence says Roadway Lift Station.

And the county thinks $12,400.00 is a fair condemnation price to get some road and drainage right of way along Twin Lakes Road.

[Two wells, a lift station, surplus water meter components, and drainage eminent domain @ Lowndes County Commission 2026-01-26]
Two wells, a lift station, surplus water meter components, and drainage eminent domain @ Lowndes County Commission 2026-01-26

That’s about a quarter million dollars they may approve Tuesday, before even adding in the $26,371.00 cash match for a VAWA grant. Continue reading →

Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2026-01-11

Here is the draft agenda and the zoom parameters for the WWALS Quarterly Board meeting Sunday evening, January 11, 2026.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89308028204?pwd=VmwyMzVTMVR6WGJxbUFUSlFXWFRWQT09

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 6:00 PM, Sunday, January 11, 2026

What: The usual board business.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1448563266894844/

[Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees]
Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees

Here is the agenda (see also PDF). Continue reading →

Valdosta drinking water meter sole-source issue 2025-10-19

Update 2025-12-30: Valdosta fixing sewer system problems before they break @ VCC 2025-12-11.

Back in 2020, Valdosta happily announced installation of new water meters, including a video of them installing the meters in the ground, with a steel cover. They were supposed to last a long time.

[Valdosta drinking water meter sole-source issue 2020-01-31, 25,000 meters replaced again in October 2025]
Valdosta drinking water meter sole-source issue 2020-01-31, 25,000 meters replaced again in October 2025

Unfortunately, those meters were not designed for hot subtropical summers. That steel cover kept the heat in, and the meters failed in little more than five years. There was no upgrade, because the sole-source vendor went bankrupt.

So in 2025 the City of Valdosta had to buy a whole new set of 25,000 meters, which were not in its budget, and required changing customer billing.

This story is about drinking water. In a later post, we will discuss how the sole-source issue is also relevant to Valdosta’s sewer system, and other sewer systems.

Metro 17, Valdosta, January 31, 2020, New Water Meters, Continue reading →