Tag Archives: ARWT

Naylor Beach and Boat Ramp in Swim Guide 2023-04-18

Update 2023-04-21: Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20.

Now that Kimberly Tanner is testing weekly at Naylor Park Beach, we’ve added it to Swim Guide.

[Sites and Swim Guide Map 2023-04-18]
Sites and Swim Guide Map 2023-04-18

Since Naylor Boat Ramp is only 300 feet upstream on the Alapaha River, we’ve add it to Swim Guide with the same testing results.

They are both in Naylor Park, which is owned by Lowndes County, Georgia, and operated by Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreational Authority (VLPRA). Continue reading →

Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers 2023-04-13

Update 2023-04-21: Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20.

Update 2023-04-18: Naylor Beach and Boat Ramp in Swim Guide 2023-04-18.

Happy swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13

All WWALS water quality test results for Thursday show clean from E. coli for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers. Crawford Branch at Skipper Bridge Road was a bit higher, but well within the 410 one-time test limit.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Rain is predicted for Sunday morning, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers. Continue reading →

Reissued Valdosta Stormwater Permit –GA-EPD 2022-12-06

Update 2023-05-19: Valdosta annual stormwater reports to GA-EPD 2023-02-14.

In December GA-EPD reissued Valdosta’s stormwater permit, which happens every five years.

[About, NOI, maps: Valdosta reissued Stormwater permit 2022-12-06]
About, NOI, maps: Valdosta reissued Stormwater permit 2022-12-06

However, if I understand the response by Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd in the documents received in response to an open records request, all there is right now is a generic boilerplate permit for cities of this size. That generic permit requires Valdosta to spell out best practices it will use, and to update its Stormwater Master Plan (SWMP), all by June 4, 2023.

Since the City Engineer has been quite receptive to public input lately, I hope this means Valdosta will be accepting input into rewriting the SWMP. About trash, for example. Continue reading →

Pictures: Bats, Venus, Jupiter, Banks Lake Full Worm Moon 2023-03-07

Sun, moon, bats, and planets, on a balmy night, last full moon at Banks Lake.

Come on out tonight at 6:45 PM and see for yourself!

[Sunset, Bats, Planets, Moonrise @ Banks Lake 2023-03-07]
Sunset, Bats, Planets, Moonrise @ Banks Lake 2023-03-07

Continue reading →

Maps: Valdosta Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters 2023-03-01

These maps show the locations of Valdosta’s Stormwater Pond Facility Clusters previously posted. They provide clues to where trash may be accumulating.

Most of the major creeks in Valdosta are represented, plus some that I didn’t know had names, such as Bunche Street Canal and Knob Hill Canal, as well as some that apparently do not have names.

Most (Sugar Creek, Hightower Creek, Dow Street Canal, One Mile Branch, Two Mile Branch, Three Mile Branch, Knob Hill Canal, Cherry Creek, and Browns Canal) are in the Withlacoochee River Basin.

Others (Knights Creek, Dukes Bay Canal, Bunche Street Canal) are in the Alapaha River Basin.

Several of the maps straddles several watersheds.

[Example Cluster maps]
Example Cluster maps

Below there is a pair of maps for each of the clusters: a map received from Valdosta in response to an open records request, and a map excerpt from one of the WWALS water trail maps.

The rest of the text below is from the document previously posted. Continue reading →

Pictures: Jennings Bluff Florida State Geological Site with Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

Update 2023-05-01: Alapaha Swallets Dye Trace Project 2016-10-01.

A congenial time was had by all on a balmy north Florida day at the Dead River Sink (or swallet) as the Florida Geological Survey incorporated it into the new Jennings Bluff Tract State Geological Site.

[Jennings Bluff State Geological Site and Dead River Sink 2023-03-17]
Jennings Bluff State Geological Site and Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

The Dead River Sink in the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) Jennings Bluff Tract is one of the most popular spots for WWALS outings on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

Here is a WWALS video playlist by Gretchen Quarterman, who also took the still pictures except where otherwise indicated:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwFQi2rSRU59BUHPbSkTdVW

Continue reading →

Videos: Lake Beatrice, Alapaha River, GA-EPD Seed Grants @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14

They mostly reviewed changes to the plan they approved at the last meeting, back in November, at this meeting in Nashville, Georgia, of Georgia’s Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council.

The biggest agenda item was discussion of the Lake Beatrice dam project, which is intended to impound water as a recreational facility for Ben Hill County and to replenish the Alapaha River when it is low.

[Attendees and Lake Beatrice project @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14]
Attendees and Lake Beatrice project @ SSRWPC 2023-03-14

Chair Scott Downing made an interesting point that we do this all the time via drinking water withdrawals, which go back into streams as outfall from wastewater treatment plants. This is why Lake Beatrice has enough incoming water to dam: outfall from the Ben Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant, which goes into Turkey Creek, Lake Beatrice, Willacoochee Creek, the Willacoochee River, and the Alapaha River.

Also, the Lake Beatrice project was his idea. Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2023-03-09

Update 2023-03-17: Clean Rivers 2023-03-16.

Update 2023-03-17: Tifton Evergreen Drive Sewage Spill 2023-03-11.

It rained this evening, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers, which were very clean before, according to WWALS water quality tests. So I would paddle, fish, or swim this weekend.

Actually, I’ll be at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta Saturday and Sunday.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week. However, Tifton got around to reporting today a spill from a month ago. Continue reading →

Beyond cleanups: trash traps, ordinances, business permits, reusable substitutes, bottle deposits, and single-use packaging bans 2023-02-05

Update 2023-12-23: The Real Trash Problem is the Producers, and How to Stop It 2023-12-23.

Update 2023-03-29: Trash still dribbling from 2695 N Ashley St into Two Mile Branch 2023-02-24.

Every Waterkeeper and many local and even state governments brag about trash cleanups. Cleanups need to be done, but actually they are the least effective way to deal with trash. They do not stop trash; they just remove it once it blows off roads or parking lots or floats downstream.

So let’s look up, to see more effective solutions.

[Solid waste management hierarchy]
Solid waste management hierarchy

Here WWALS has adapted an industry-standard waste management hierarchy diagram. We’ve gone farther than just cleaning up, containing, or even reusing the trash. Our diagram goes all the way up to stopping it being produced.

Let’s start at the pointy bottom of the pyramid. Continue reading →

Jennings Bluff State Geological Site 2023-03-17

Update 2023-03-23: Pictures: Jennings Bluff Florida State Geological Site with Dead River Sink 2023-03-17.

Update 2023-03-16: Partly cloudy and 62 degrees at Jennings at 10 AM, is the current prediction for tomorrow. See you at Jennings Bluff.

One of the most popular WWALS destinations is becoming a Florida State Geological Site.

[Dead River Sink 2022-10-02, Jennings Bluff Tract, Hamilton County, Florida]
Dead River Sink 2022-10-02, Jennings Bluff Tract, Hamilton County, Florida

We last did a WWALS hike to the Dead River Sink on October 2, 2022, after paddling down the Alapaha River in the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

Celebrate Designation of Jennings Bluff Tract as a State Geological Site,

~Short walk to Dead River Swallet will follow ceremony~

Continue reading →