Tag Archives: conservation

Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2025-06-21

Join us to paddle by many springs and sinks in Madison and Hamilton Counties, Florida, on the Withlacoochee River, including first-magnitude Madison Blue Spring.

It’s not far, 5.39 river miles, but full of springs.

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 11 AM, moonrise 10:40 AM, sunset 8:34 PM, end 2 PM, Saturday, June 21, 2025

Put In: Florida Campsites Ramp, 2137 NW 47th St, Jasper, FL 32052, in Hamilton County, Florida.

GPS: 30.501128, -83.242411

[Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2025-06-21, Springs including Madison Blue]
Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2025-06-21, Springs including Madison Blue

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Sugar Creek still dirty, Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-05-01

Update 2025-05-09: Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-05-08.

Sugar Creek was cleaner this week, but still at the one-time testing limit for E. coli at Gornto Road, and actually higher upstream at Baytree Road. Something is still not right near the old spill site, with no rain to affect it.

The Withlacoochee River and the Alapaha River were clean.

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

No rain is predicted until Sunday, or maybe Saturday afternoon downstream.

So avoid Sugar Creek, and happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!

[Sugar Creek still dirty, Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-04-29, Clean Alapaha River 2025-05-01, Rain predicted for Sunday]
Sugar Creek still dirty, Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-04-29, Clean Alapaha River 2025-05-01, Rain predicted for Sunday

Join us tomorrow on-land for 2nd Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Waycross, GA 2025-05-03
https://wwals.net/?p=67535

For more WWALS outings and events, see: https://wwals.net/outings/

Sugar Creek

Valdosta Utilities got 640 cfu/100 mL E. coli for Tuesday at Baytree Road on Sugar Creek, above the the former sewage spill site, and below at Gornto Road, they got 410. Both are at or above the 410 one-time test limit. Continue reading

Help stop the stealth Florida plastics ban preemption bill 2025-05-01

Yesterday the Florida State Senate voted 24 to 13 for CS/HB 1609 to proceed.

The day before yesterday they took the text of the old bills and inserted it into CS/HB 1609, which has the misleading title “Waste Management”.

Several amendments this morning may or may not have removed the offending verbiage.

Please contact your Florida state Representative and ask them to stop this pre-emption:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/florida-house/

[CS/HB 1609]
CS/HB 1609

Plastic is one of the biggest pollution threats to our waterways. Continue reading

Turner Bridge to Cone Bridge Paddle, Suwannee River, 2025-07-05

Join us for an 11.2-mile paddle on the upper Suwannee River.

This is beautiful part of the river has one section of small shoals to paddle through. There can also be some tree debris in the river to work our way around.

Everyone must wear a PFD while on the river. Both ramps are on long dirt roads that are usually well maintained. Please come on time, the shuttle leaves promptly at 9:30.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10:15 AM, end 3:30 PM, Saturday, July 5, 2025

Put In: Turner Bridge Ramp, From White Springs, travel north on SE CR 135; cross over SE CR 6 onto NE 180 Boulevard (Woodpecker Route); travel north to NE 38 Trail; turn right and follow road to ramp, in Hamilton County.

GPS: 30.524333, -82.728167

[Turner Bridge to Cone Bridge Paddle, Suwannee River, July 5, 2025]
Turner Bridge to Cone Bridge Paddle, Suwannee River, July 5, 2025

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Better retested Sugar Creek water quality 2025-04-25

Update 2025-05-02: Sugar Creek still dirty, Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-05-01.

Update 2025-04-30: For Tuesday, April 29, 2025, Valdosta Utilities got 640 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Baytree Road and 410 at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek. That’s still too high, but better than even last Friday.

After last Tuesday’s horrendous TNTC result at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek, Valdosta Utilities tried again and got better results.

Valdosta’s Friday E. coli result was 930, which is still not good, but closer to the previous weeks’ 760. Both are above the one-time test limit of 410, but below the alert limit of 1,000, and far below TNTC (Too Numerous to Count).

Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes tells me they have also double-checked their sampling process.

[Better retested Sugar Creek water quality 2025-04-25, by Valdosta Utilities, Upstream from Withlacoochee River]
Better retested Sugar Creek water quality 2025-04-25, by Valdosta Utilities, Upstream from Withlacoochee River

You can see the follow-up results down at the bottom of Valdosta’s 2025 Sugar Creek Spill Testing table.
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities/river-stream-water-quality-data/2025-sugar-creek-spill-testing

* Sample Colonies Too numerous to Count- Issue under investigation and new Sample to be pulled and Results to be posted upon completion.

** Ad hoc Sample to follow up Results from 4/22/25 . New Sample Pulled 4/25/25. Gornto Road Results: FColi=760 EColi=930

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Pictures: Another Clean up One Mile Branch at Azalea City Trail, Valdosta, GA 2025-04-26

We got quite a bit of trash off of Wainwright Drive, One Mile Branch, and the Azalea City Trail, including near the old trash dump across Hurricane-Helene-damaged fence.

[Clean up One Mile Branch, at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta, GA, April 26, 2025]
Clean up One Mile Branch, at Azalea City Trail, Wainwright Drive, Valdosta, GA, April 26, 2025

The land beyond One Mile Branch left bank, Azalea City Trail, and the fence is owned by University System of GA Board of Regents.

There were children playing in One Mile Branch, including right below the manholes that have repeatedly leaked massive amounts of raw sewage.

One Mile Branch runs into Sugar Creek into the Withlacoochee River.

Thanks to Sara Squires Jones and Scotti Jay for organizing this cleanup.

For more Continue reading

2nd Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Waycross, GA 2025-05-03

Update 2025-05-05: Pictures: 2nd Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Waycross, GA 2025-05-03.

Join us at the WWALS booth in Waycross, Georgia, at the Second Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival.

Thanks to Chris “Turtleman” Adams for inviting us to the Okefenokee Heritage Festival for this event.

We’ll be talking about the Okefenokee Swamp and the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT) among other things.

When: 10 AM-3 PM, Saturday, May 3, 2025

Put In: Okefenokee Heritage Center, 1460 N Augusta Ave, Waycross, GA 31503

GPS: 31.235502, -82.382189

[WWALS Booth at 2nd Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Waycross, GA 2025-05-03]
WWALS Booth at 2nd Annual Okefenokee Folk Festival, Okefenokee Heritage Center, Waycross, GA 2025-05-03

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Videos: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle 2025-04-19

Here WWALS videos of the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper, and the talks before the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle 2025.

We didn’t get video of Gretchen Quarterman giving the host talk, but she got video of Gee Edwards giving the Safety Lecture as the leader of this expedition.

[Videos: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle, Withlacoochee River 2025-04-19, Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek]
Videos: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle, Withlacoochee River 2025-04-19, Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek

And of the two elected officials: Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, and Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter.

And of Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, who thanked Phil Hubbard and Phil Royce for the then most recent WWALS chainsaw cleanups between Langdale Park and Troupville. TJ Johnson also led three of the ten chainsaw cleanups on the Withlacoochee River since Hurricane Helene.

Here are the videos:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwGbCYD8RS6O2a9Gbde6KiW&si=3AXMuak4qXkl4DB5

Also thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the grant that kept this paddle free to everyone.

And thanks to Paul Batts and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for the two shuttle vans and drivers. And to Lowndes County Fire Rescue for paddling. And to Lowndes County Public Works for grading the access road to Langdale Park Boat Ramp.

Thanks to Steve Miller and son for bringing a golf cart to the take-out at Sugar Creek. They and WWALS President Sara Squires Jones held the fort at Sugar Creek while the rest of us were paddling.

Here are the individual videos in this playlist: Continue reading

Waterkeeper Alliance advocates EPA and USACE restore longstanding protections for the nation’s waters 2025-04-23

Suwannee Riverkeeper, among 64 U.S. Waterkeepers, joined Waterkeeper Alliance and Environmental Integrity Project in asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain and restore longstanding protections for the nation’s waters.

[Waterkeeper Alliance advocates EPA and USACE restore longstanding protections for the nation’s waters 2025-04-23]
Waterkeeper Alliance advocates EPA and USACE restore longstanding protections for the nation’s waters 2025-04-23

Most of this long comment letter is applicable to the Suwannee River Basin. For example, related to the ongoing Georgia attempts to define which rivers and creeks are navigable: “lUnder the agencies’ Pre-2015 Regulatory Definition, all tributaries to traditionally navigable waters, interstate waters, impoundments, and ‘other waters’ are categorically defined as ‘waters of the United States.’” For example, see Valdosta sewage into Sugar Creek and Quitman sewage and cattle manure into Okapilco Creek, both into the Withlacoochee River in Georgia, upstream from Florida and the Suwannee River.

The comment doesn’t mention the Floridan Aquifer, but there are mentions of “Large numbers of rivers and streams… that briefly flow subsurface and then reemerge as surface waters.” and river-connected “subsurface flows and springs” elsewhere. Subsurface flows are important in the Suwannee River Basin and the Floridan Aquifer.

The Florida Basin Managment Action Plans (BMAPs) supposedly intend to reduce by 85-95% the leaching of fertilizer nitrates through the soil and subsurface limestone into springs and rivers, causing algae blooms and crowding out native vegetation, to the detriment of manatees and other wildlife.

See also the Dead River Sink where the Alapaha River goes underground and comes back up in the Alapaha River Rise on the Suwannee River. Continue reading

Edwards Spring, Suwannee River 2025-04-22

After Hillman Bridge, WUFT News Reporter Andrew Sheridan and I went to Edwards Spring.

Also known as Ellaville Spring, this is a second magnitude spring next to the Suwannee River, on private property.

It is just downstream from Suwannee River State Park, but you can’t get through from there anymore. Best to get permission from the landowner, as we did, before going there.

[Edwards Spring, Suwannee River, aka Ellaville Spring 2025-04-22, Steps by TJ Johnson, On private land]
Edwards Spring, Suwannee River, aka Ellaville Spring 2025-04-22, Steps by TJ Johnson, On private land

As TJ Johnson attested, he and other cave divers have established Edwards Spring connects under the Suwannee River to Suwannacoochee Spring on the other side of the Suwannee River, next to the Withlacoochee River.

In 2014, the Florida Geological Survey and the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) put dye into Falmouth Spring, inland from here, and the dye came out at both Ellaville Spring and Suwanacoochee Spring. SO there are connections al the way through the Falmouth Cathedral Cave System between those three springs. Continue reading