Tag Archives: conservation

Agendas: WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings 2022-07-10

Register for zoom for the meetings: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElceqrrzMqEtL8gFsZjCTd2lo8HmgxTfas

WWALS Annual Member Meeting

When: 9:30 AM, Sunday, July 10, 2022

What: Presentation of Annual Report, and WWALS members elect some board members.

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 10:00 AM, Sunday, July 10, 2022

What: WWALS Board members elect officers for one year terms, and do the usual board business.

Event: facebook

[Annual Members and Quarterly Board Meetings 2022-07-10]
Annual Members and Quarterly Board Meetings 2022-07-10

WWALS Board members and staff are listed online: Continue reading →

Sewer spill at Baytree Road trash trap 2022-07-09

Update 2022-07-11: Valdosta says it has fixed Baytree Road trash trap sewer leak 2022-07-10.

Two manholes are spewing sewage next to Baytree Road and Sheri Run, upstream from Lake Sheri and the Withlacoochee River.

[Manhole, trash trap, Sheri Run]
Manhole, trash trap, Sheri Run

Couple of WWALS members went to see Valdosta’s decade-old trash trap on Baytree Road at Sheri Run, and found this sewage spill about 5:20 PM today, Saturday, July 8, 9, 2022. Yes, they did report it to Valdosta Utilities.

Hear them gag at the smell: Continue reading →

Five Rivers Clean 2022-07-07

Update 2022-07-15: Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14.

According to ten WWALS Thursday test sites on five rivers, and Madison Health lifting their Withlacoochee River Health Advisory, five rivers tested clean Thursday.

There was substantial rain yesterday, but since previous rains probably washed off the worst stuff, most likely there won’t be much effect on the rivers.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

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

The most recent Valdosta data Continue reading →

WaterGoat cleanout 2022-07-03

Thanks to Russell Allen McBride for volunteering to clean out the WaterGoat trash boom on Sugar Creek that Valdosta bought. This is a temporary stopgap until Valdosta makes more complete plans to keep this trash from washing into the nearby Withlacoochee River, plus plans to stop trash from getting into the creeks.

Thanks again to Valdosta for buying the WaterGoat. I have said Thank You twice in City Council meetings, once in an op-ed in the Valdosta Daily Times, numerous times here, and in emails and telephone messages to city staff, Council, and Mayor.

[Before, during, and after]
Before, during, and after

However, apparently there is still confusion inside the city government as to cleaning out that WaterGoat. Once again: Continue reading →

Chain link fence, trash cans, and dumpsters: Flying J, Exit 2 2022-07-02

Update 2024-07-06: Trash cans and chain link fence, Flying J Travel Center, I-75 Exit 2, Lake Park, GA 2024-04-16.

The Flying J at I-75 Exit 2 in Georgia has put in a chain link fence, trash cans, and dumpsters, which now seem to keep its trash out of the detention pond, which eventually drains to the Withlacoochee River Lake Octahatchee.

The trash cans and dumpsters are full and need emptying, but that means people are using them, which is a big improvement over the previous situation of just chucking trash on the pavement and into the detention pond.

There is more to do, but this is much better already.

Many thanks to Lowndes County Code Enforcement and to the Flying J.

[Trash much more contained]
Trash much more contained

After a WWALS member told me about this problem, I first reported it Continue reading →

Still clean: Withlacoochee River 2022-07-05

Update 2022-07-09: Five Rivers Clean 2022-07-07.

All six of the WWALS samples for yesterday were clean, over 55 Withlacoochee River miles in Georgia and Florida. Plus it turns out FDEP tested three spots last Thursday.

Happy swimming, boating, and fishing.

As mentioned in the previous post, there was significant rain just upstream of Valdosta yesterday, so conditions could change rapidly. But since we’ve already seen first flush after a long dry spell, I’d guess we won’t see anything that’s much of a problem, probably not even much cattle manure down Okapilco Creek out of Brooks County, GA.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

Thanks to Continue reading →

MC and deadline extended: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, August 20, 2022

Hahira, Georgia, July 6, 2022 — “I’ve heard him all my life on the radio,” said organizing committee member Sara Jay Jones. That’s Kickin Kevin Thomas, who describes himself as, “Good timing, fun loving country radio host for the past 30 years.” We’re glad to welcome Kickin Kevin as the MC of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, at the Finals, Saturday, August 20, 2022,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “And he’s a fun guy to be around at an event: he knows music, and he knows good times,” said committee member Jesse Cole.

[MC Kickin Kevin Thomas]
MC Kickin Kevin Thomas

The committee also extended the deadline for song submissions a week, to Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Songwriters, please send in your song today!

Follow this link for song submission form, contest Rules, sponsorships, and soon, entry tickets:
wwals.net/pictures/2022-08-20–songwriting Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River water quality good again 2022-07-03

Update 2022-07-06: Still clean: Withlacoochee River 2022-07-05.

Turns out Valdosta did test during the holiday weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They finally posted their Friday results on their website yesterday. Saturday and Sunday we know because Madison Health sent them to WWALS. There is nothing about them on Valdosta’s own website, facebook, or twitter. A report of Valdosta’s Thursday sewage spill finally did show up in GA-EPD’s Sewage Spills Report, but it is lacking key information.

These Valdosta results mostly match what WWALS found through the weekend.

So by the most recent WWALS and Valdosta results, the Withlacoochee River is clean again. The three different contamination sources from Thursday seem to have all gotten diluted. The other two were probably agricultural, including the usual cattle manure down Okapilco Creek from Brooks County, Georgia.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing.

There was some heavy rain last night just north of Valdosta, so conditions could change rapidly. However, we’ve already had the first flush after the recent dry spell, so I’d guess the rain won’t have much effect on river water quality. Continue reading →

Click ‘n’ Fix of uncleaned Sugar Creek WaterGoat 2022-06-30

Update 2022-07-08: WaterGoat cleanout 2022-07-03.

Valdosta has still not even acknowledged my request #12772355 to clean out the WaterGoat trash boom on Sugar Creek. I sent it five days ago, on June 30, 2022, through Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix smartphone app.

[Photograph, Seeclickfix]
Photograph, Seeclickfix

Remember Sugar Creek is just upstream from the Withlacoochee River. No trash boom is designed to hold trash forever, so the WaterGoat will eventually overflow and send that trash on down the river, past the proposed site of Troupville River Camp, and on to Florida.

That was a day after our previous post about Sugar Creek trash boom after 1.5 inches rain 2022-06-29.

The Click ‘n’ Fix request was two days after I sent email to the relevant Valdosta city departments. No response from any of them, either.

It’s now two weeks since Continue reading →

Notice: WWALS Annual Member Meeting and Quarterly Board Meeting 2022-07-10

Update 2022-07-09: Agendas: WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings 2022-07-10.

You are invited to two WWALS meetings the same morning, both online by zoom. Agendas and zoom parameters will be posted before the meetings.

WWALS Annual Member Meeting

When: 9:30 AM, Sunday, July 10, 2022

What: Presentation of Annual Report, and WWALS members elect some board members.

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 10:00 AM, Sunday, July 10, 2022

What: WWALS Board members elect officers for one year terms, and do the usual board business.

Event: facebook

[WWALS Logo]
WWALS Logo

WWALS Board members and staff are listed online: https://wwals.net/about/board/ https://wwals.net/about/staff/

Much of the work of WWALS is done by committees of members, ranging from Outings which organizes the paddles to Grant Writing, which could be the most fun! https://wwals.net/about/committees/

If you want to join a committee or even the board, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/WxPHuXe79iAn1dWXA

See also WWALS Accomplishments, and many other things on the WWALS website. https://wwals.net

About WWALS: Founded in June 2012, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity. WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities. Since December 2016, John S. Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper®, which is a staff position and a project of WWALS as the member of Waterkeeper® Alliance for the Suwannee River Basin.