Tag Archives: Cherry Creek

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 →

Clean rivers 2023-02-16

Update 2023-02-25: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-02-23.

According to WWALS results for Thursday, happy boating, swimming, and fishing in our rivers this weekend!

Provided you like high water and are prepared to deal with overhanging limbs and getting lost in the floodplain.

I might avoid the Alapaha River at Sasser Landing, due to Valdosta’s Wednesday February 15th probably major spill into Knights Creek.

Valdosta’s other two sewage spills this month, Wednesday, February 8th into Hightower Creek above Sugar Creek and Saturday, February 11th into Cherry Creek probably were too small to have any significant effect on the Withlacoochee River. The WWALS Sunday tests on Cherry Creek and the river appear to have verified that lack of effect for that one, and regular test results after the Hightower Creek one ditto.

No other recent sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida: just Valdosta. Continue reading →

From bad to worse: Cherry Creek 2023-02-12

Update 2024-01-28: Four more Valdosta sewage spills 2023-12-17.

Update 2023-02-17: Valdosta sewer main collapse, US 84, effects to E. Park Ave., along Knights Creek 2023-02-15.

The Withlacoochee River tested worse than Cherry Creek for E. coli both upstream and downstream from where Cherry Creek comes in, after Valdosta’s Saturday sewage spill.

[Cherry Creek tests 2023-02-12]
Cherry Creek tests 2023-02-12

So that 2,800 gallons of raw sewage apparently did not materially affect the Withlacoochee River.

But the test results mean it would be wise to steer clear of creeks and rivers for a few days. Continue reading →

Cherry Creek water quality sampling after Valdosta sewage spill 2023-02-12

Update 2023-02-12: From bad to worse: Cherry Creek 2023-02-12.

Valdosta had a small sewage spill Saturday, next to a branch of Cherry Creek. It was probably too small to have much effect on the creek and even less on the Withlacoochee River. WWALS sent water quality testers out to sample anyway.

[Boys & Girls Club Lift Station, Lake Laurie Drive, The Dip, Lake Cleve, Cherry Creek 2023-02-12]
Boys & Girls Club Lift Station, Lake Laurie Drive, The Dip, Lake Cleve, Cherry Creek 2023-02-12

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson texted me yesterday. He says the spill was first reported to Valdosta Utilities about 7:30 PM and “stopped discharging about 11:00p last night.” He was referring to Saturday, February 11, 2023.

The amount is estimated to be 2,800 gallons. That’s a minor spill (less than 10,000 gallons).

The spill was from Valdosta’s Boys and Girls Club Lift Station, 3658 Lake Laurie Drive, Valdosta, GA 31605. That’s in Valdosta City Council District 5, Tim Carroll. Continue reading →

Trash cans at Freedom Park 2022-11-21

Bobby McKenzie reported yesterday, “I’m at Freedom Park and what is new? I count 11 trash receptacles strategical placed in the baseball parking lot….guess what in them..😆 trash”

[Trash cans at Freedom Park 2022-11-21]
Trash cans at Freedom Park 2022-11-21

Imagine that: trash cans in a parking lot, like Valdosta city ordinances require.

And people do use them. Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2022-06-02

Update 2022-06-11: Five Rivers Clean 2022-06-09.

Seventh week: all rivers clean! Happy swimming, fishing, and boating in the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

For example, tomorrow morning, Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-04.

Of course, there can be undetected local water quality problems (see below). But all the WWALS sites tested Thursday got clean results. While there is a prediction of rain today and tomorrow, if it’s like what we’ve been seeing, it will be light and won’t wash much contamination into the river. No sewage spills have been reported in Georgia or Florida in the past week. So have a good weekend.

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Wednesday of last week downstream. Those were all clean, too.

But earlier contamination was detected in Valdosta results. Continue reading →

Videos: One Valdosta-Lowndes, Troupville River Camp @ LCC 2021-11-08

Featuring as their number one BIG thing was “River Camp Project”, in a presentation about One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL), which was far the longest item at 33 minutes at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session on November 8, 2021.

[One Valdosta-Lowndes, River Camp Project, Dr. Carvajal, Origins]
One Valdosta-Lowndes, River Camp Project, Dr. Carvajal, Origins

You may recognize that as Troupville River Camp, for which WWALS submitted an application to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) in 2019. Back then there was no cash match available. Now both Valdosta and Lowndes County have funds to purchase Land Between the Rivers from Helen Tapp, at the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River. Helen sent GA-AL Land Trust to walk the land a month ago, and probably soon a conservation easement will be worked out. Meanwhile, Troupville River Camp and Troupville Nature Park are prominently featured in the WWALS Vision for Water Quality and Access in Lowndes County Georgia 2020-12-02. That Vision was input to the Master Plan Update process for Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA), and the resulting VLPRA Master Plan incorporates the River Camp and other river access and facilities as priorities.

Add the possibility of Valdosta buying for parkland the 300+ acres of the Cherry Creek Mitigation Bank. And the potential for Sugar Creek downstream of Baytree as an urban recreational creek.

It’s good to see One Valdosta-Lowndes interested in river and creek access and recreation.

Below are videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), which also has the rest of the meeting. Continue reading →

VLPRA Master Plan Presentation 2021-08-31

Update 2021-12-01: Valdosta-Lowndes County Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan 2021-08-31.

It’s a long-term vision, with strategies for funding and implementation, which includes everything needed for a Troupville River Camp at the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River, and other river parks and trails. This Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLPRA) Master Plan is based on both a statistically-representative survey and an anecdotal qualitative survey, which came up with very similar results.

[Strategy 6: Access to Rivers, Provide Additional Amenities]
Strategy 6: Access to Rivers, Provide Additional Amenities

These are the presentation slides used by David Barth in the September 13, 2021, Lowndes County Commission Work Session. His Barth & Associates helped develop the plan for the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks & Recreation Authority (VLPRA).

It’s our understanding that the WWALS Vision for water quality and access in Lowndes County, Georgia 2021-03-01 is incorporated in this VLPRA Master Plan, including Troupville River Camp, Troupville River Park, and other river recommendations.

After the slides, see also some more recent WWALS recommendations.

VLPRA Master Plan Presentation Slides

See also PDF. Thanks to Jessica Catlett of VLPRA for sending these slides.

You can see David Barth present the slides in videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE). Continue reading →

Denied: Deannexation of Cherry Creek Mitigation Bank @ VCC 2021-08-19

Update 2023-11-20: Vegetative Buffer Encroachment on Mud Swamp Creek for Valdosta Old Clyattville Road Widening 2023-10-19.

WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman heard it on Valdosta’s facebook livestream. The result was surprising only in that it was unanimous.

Bryce Ethridge, Valdosta Daily Times, Aug 24, 2021, City denies de-annexation request, approves park projects,

VALDOSTA — After tabling it at the last meeting, Valdosta City Council denied the de-annexation of 310 acres from the city.

This was a request made by the Uvalde Land Company for the city’s portion of the Cherry Creek Wetlands Mitigation Bank property located between the Withlacoochee River and Cherry Creek residential neighborhoods.

The company wanted the change for “wildlife management and recreational use” for a hunting ground.

The request, even before being brought up in the council meeting, was opposed by nearby residents, some of whom were concerned about being in the path of stray bullets because of their homes’ proximity to the area.

Mayor Pro-Tem Tim Carroll said the applicants can seek permits to hunt on the land while it remains within the city.

“None of the reasons given warrant the de-annexation of the property, especially when you consider there are a host of homeowners that have homes above this property,” he said. “They are citizens of Valdosta and they deserve to have their voices heard by their representatives.”

Carroll motioned to deny the request, followed by a unanimous vote in favor of the action.

[Aerial of proposed de-annexation]
Aerial of proposed de-annexation in 2021-08-05 Regular Session, Valdosta City Council

The picture is from the preceding City Council meeting, when they held the Public Hearing, before tabling at the landowner’s request.

Tim Carroll is visible behind the small monitor at the speaker’s podium. The de-annexation would have been from his City Council district, so, as is usual in such cases, the other Council members followed his lead, although some of them also had other reasons to deny.

See also: Continue reading →

Alapaha, Withlacoochee Rivers, Lowndes County Commission 2021-08-10

For voting Tuesday evening, three water-related items have more implications than might appear from the agenda of the Lowndes County Commission.

[Lake Alapaha water treatment, Bay Branch tributaries in Building Valdosta Subdivision, Army Corps on Val Del Villas]
Lake Alapaha water treatment, Bay Branch tributaries in Building Valdosta Subdivision, Army Corps on Val Del Villas

7.a. REZ-2021-09 Building Valdosta Subdivision (0070 018), R-A to R-21, Community Well & Septic, ~64.84 acres.

This subdivision has two creeks crossing it, leading to Bay Branch and the Withlacoochee River, plus at least one retention pond.

7.c. REZ-2021-13 Val Del Villas, Val Del Rd. P-D Amendment, County Water and Sewer, ~28.436 acres

For this existing subdivision, Northside Property Development wants to add more houses. It got the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine that the remaining part of Val Del Villas off Val Del Road is not jurisdictional wetlands. That’s uphill from Sermons Branch and the Withlacoochee River. Northside Property Development has the same registered agent as Uvalde Land Company that bought the Cherry Creek Mitigation Bank next to the other side of the Withlacoochee River, and wants to deannex the upland half of it from Valdosta. The uplands in that Bank tract are not jurisdictional wetlands, either.

8.b. Alapaha Plantation Water Treatment Pilot Study

This is the kind of extra expense Valdosta avoided by sinking its water wells at Guest Road twice as deep after Withlacoochee River water was discovered reaching them from Shadrick Sink, on the other side of the Withlacoochee River, and the other side of what is now the Cherry Creek Mitigation Bank, recently sold to Uvalde Land Company, which wants to deannex half of it from Valdosta.

For much more background, including the so-far $225,415 running total for Lowndes County subsidizing water for the private Lake Alapaha subdivision next to the Alapaha River, see The never-ending Lake Alapaha Water Treatment Plant saga @ LCC 2021-08-10.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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