Tag Archives: conservation

Training: Water Quality Testing 2024-02-10

Update This class will be ALL in person at John W. Saunders Park, Pavilion #3.

You can learn how to help test water quality in the Suwannee River Basin.

WWALS testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman will do the classroom portion of the course by zoom, followed by hands-on practical training at a waterway with physical distancing. will teach both chemical and bacterial training in person. There is a classroom portion with demonstration, followed by practical and test for each class. Classroom materials will be provided. The tests are on paper and are to be taken on-site.

This is both Chemical and Bacterial training by Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) methods.

Yes, we can and do use this in Florida as well as Georgia, and we have testers based in Florida.

[WWALS Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Testing Training 2024-02-10]
WWALS Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Testing Training 2024-02-10

We currently have testers on the Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers.

We need more of those, and also for the Alapahoochee River, as well as Cat Creek, Beatty Branch, Sugar Creek, Okapilco Creek, and others.

For more, see: https://wwals.net/testing/

Sign up: https://forms.gle/37DawiGAJYoyqtPKA Continue reading →

Huge win against LNG: feds require climate analysis; what about Florida? 2024-01-24

Update 2024-07-01: Federal Railroad Administration 281-page FOIA response on FECR LNG by Rail request 2024-06-07.

The president’s decision on Calcasieu Pass LNG (CP2) in Louisiana is a huge win, comparable to the Keystone XL pipeline decision a decade ago. But what does it mean for Florida?

According to the New York Times:

Whatever new criteria is used to evaluate CP2 would be expected to be applied to the other 16 proposed natural gas terminals that are awaiting approval.

…

“This move would amount to a functional ban on new LNG export permits,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

The catch is that there are already LNG export operations in Florida and Georgia.

Plus Florida is a few hundred miles closer than Louisiana to Puerto Rico, which is one of the usual first destinations of LNG, and closer to most of the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America.

And some of the financiers of Louisiana LNG projects are involved in existing or potential projects in Florida.

[Calcasieu Pass LNG in google maps]
Calcasieu Pass LNG in google maps

Here are excerpts from the NYTimes story. Coral Davenport, New York Times, January 24, 2024, White House Said to Delay Decision on Enormous Natural Gas Export Terminal: Before deciding whether to approve it, the Energy Department will analyze the climate impacts of CP2, one of 17 proposed LNG export terminals., Continue reading →

Paddles, Chainsaws, and Okefenokee Swamp on The Spotlight Show, Talk92.1 FM 2024-02-01

Join us on The Spotlight Show on talk921.com at 6 PM, Thursday, February 1, 2024.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and “Diamond” Jim Halter will talk about chainsaw cleanups, the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, the Okefenokee Swamp, the Ichetucknee Springs and River, and the 2024 WWALS River Revue coming up this September.

[Suwannee Riverkeeper on The Spotlight Show, 6-7 PM, Thursday, February 1, 2024]
Suwannee Riverkeeper on The Spotlight Show, 6-7 PM, Thursday, February 1, 2024

https://www.facebook.com/events/792834679536648/

 -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/

Finish: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2024-02-03

Update 2024-02-18: Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Langdale Park to Sugar Creek –Phil Royce 2024-02-03.

We got quite a few deadfalls last Saturday, now to finish the rest.

Come help us remove some deadfalls that are impeding canoe and kayak paddling.

You do not have to use any kind of saw to join us. You can take pictures, or help move sawed limbs aside, or collect trash.

Bring a chainsaw if you really know how to use it. Or a handsaw, or sawzall.

Phil Hubbard led the last one. Thanks to Shawn O’Connor for leading this one.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, February 3, 2024

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, off I-75 Exit 22.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

[We got some easy and hard deadfalls last time; finish this time. Photo: John S. Quarterman 2024-01-27]
We got some easy and hard deadfalls last time; finish this time. Photo: John S. Quarterman 2024-01-27

Continue reading →

Cancelled: Hike Camp Branch to Suwannee Springs 2024-02-03

Update 2024-01-29: Outing cancelled. “We would have been wading. There are two deep gullies east of Rt 129 that will be flooded for awhile.”

Join veteran Florida Trail hiker Randy Madison for a winter hike along creeks and over a historic bridge to Suwannee Springs on the Suwannee River near Live Oak, Florida.

This hike will take us down beautiful Camp Branch, also know as Disappearing Creek. Disappearing Creek tumbles down a narrow canyon and disappears into a 15 foot high limestone rock wall before resurfacing and then going under ground again to resurface finally just before emptying into the Suwannee River.

After the descent of Camp Branch and a break at Disappearing Creek, we’ll head down the Suwannee on the Florida Trail to cross Crooked Branch, accend the Greasy Gully to summit Devils Mt, elevation 137ft, then follow the River passing through a scenic area with the hike ambling along the edge of some open cliffs, then a couple nice sandbars before coming in to the Graffiti Bridge, old 129.

We’ll take the blue trail from the Graffiti Bridge back to the Suwannee Springs ruins and our cars. Bring lunch, plenty of water, bug spray and appropriate clothing for the outing.

The hike down Camp Branch is through open forest and can be strenuous, so if you’re not up to uneven terrain and a little bush whacking this may not be a hike for you.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:15 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 3, 2024

Put In: Camp Branch Trailhead. I-75 exit 451, south on US 129, left onto CR 132 SE, right (south) onto SE CR 25A, right onto SE 89th Way, approximately 1 mile to the parking area, 12982 SE 89th Way.

GPS: 30.3779, -82.8788

[Map and about]
Camp Branch and Suwannee Springs in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail.

Continue reading →

Four more Valdosta sewage spills 2023-12-17

Update 2024-02-22: Some Knights Creek plans in Valdosta Boone Drive and Knob Hill small sewage spills 2024-02-20.

Update 2024-01-31: Spill from Chemours Trail Ridge South TiO2 mine SE of Starke, FL 2024-01-30.

Four small Valdosta sewage spills appeared in the January 26, 2024 GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, all listed as happening December 17, 2023, and as “Did not enter State waters”.

[Four small Valdosta sewage spills 2023-12-17]
Four small Valdosta sewage spills 2023-12-17

However, Valdosta Acting Utilities Director Jason Barnes confirms that these spills did happen. Which you can see for yourself in the pictures I took on January 23 of the Mile Street spill locations.

The most unusual part of these spill reports is that bit for “WATERWAY IMPACTED”: “Did not enter State waters”. That means these spills were stopped and contained before they could reach Knights Creek or Cherry Creek. Which is impressive considering that Sunday, December 17, 2024, saw more than an inch of rain at every gauge we follow, after more than half an inch the previous day. (See below for one reservation about one of these spills.)

Nobody is going to be happy until the number of Valdosta sewage spills is zero. And WWALS continues watching closely.

However, watching also includes complimenting Valdosta Utilities when things go right. So, congratulations, Valdosta Utilities, for catching these spills before they did any damage.

Curiously, these spills did not appear in the next day’s Sewage Spills Report, or in any later days. Considering recent typos in those GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, I’m assuming those later omissions are due to EPD’s problems with lack of staffing and funding.

Let’s look at each of these spills. Continue reading →

Aerials of Hodge dirt mine, 10 miles from 3RT Sand Mine, Levy County, FL 2024-01-24

Yesterday we received some pictures of a dirt mine about ten miles east-southeast of the 3RT Sand Mine site. They show mined pits filled with water, as well as mounds of may be barn waste such as manure, or perhaps residue from a nearby saw mill.

[Dirt mine dumping, Levy County, FL 2024-01-24]
Dirt mine dumping, Levy County, FL 2024-01-24

We are not saying there is anything illegal going on at the dirt mine site.

We do wonder that if the activities shown are allowed on a mine site in Levy County, how do we know they won’t happen on the 3RT mine site? And what effect might they have on that much larger proposed mine site?

We are told by a usually reliable source that these aerials were taken January 24, 2024, by a source that wishes to be anonymous, but grants permission for public posting. Continue reading →

Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and Paddle 2024-02-10

Swim in the itch head spring. Then join us for a leisurely paddle 4 miles downstream in crystal clear waters with the possibility of seeing manatee, several types of gar, and bird species. The launching spot has been recently upgraded to accommodate new ADA standards.

There is a possibility of a further paddle down to the Ichetucknee Confluence.

When: Gather 9:00AM (swim), launch 11 AM, end 2 PM, Saturday, February 10, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Headspring and Ichetucknee North Launch, Ichetucknee S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038, Columbia County.

GPS: 29.98292, -82.76053

[Swimmers 2020-01-04 and WWALS Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and Paddle 2024-02-10]
Swimmers 2020-01-04 and WWALS Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and Paddle 2024-02-10

Continue reading →

More about the Valdosta Knob Hill or Williamsburg Drive sewage spill 2024-01-10

Update 2024-03-06: WTXL TV report and Pictures: Valdosta WWTP water quality lab ribbon cutting 2024-03-05.

Update 2024-01-26: Five clean rivers and a clean creek 2024-01-25.

I discovered a can of worms when I took a few pictures to illustrate the 100,000-gallon Knob Hill Road or Williamsburg Drive, Valdosta sewage spill of 10-12 January 2024.

The actual location is not quite where I was told by Valdosta Utilities. But I cut them a lot of slack for that, because they were working on getting it stopped, not precisely determining ownership of the affected properties.

[Spill site behind 215 Knob Hill Road, VALORGIS, VLPRA, Lowndes County Tax Assessors, Pebblewood Drive detention pond, Three Mile Branch]
Spill site behind 215 Knob Hill Road, VALORGIS, VLPRA, Lowndes County Tax Assessors, Pebblewood Drive detention pond, Three Mile Branch

More importantly, according to Valdosta Utilities Acting Director Jason Barnes, the cause was not as first thought a collapsed sewer main. When Utilities examined the pipes, they found rocks and some sort of lid in them.

And according to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson yesterday, they also found other materials that never should have been in a sewer pipe. I will leave it to the City of Valdosta to reveal in their own time exactly what they found.

From the descriptions I heard, those things could not have gotten in there accidentally, and they could not have been washed into the sewer main by stormwater.

The basic point seems clear: this ten-times-major spill was not caused by failing old sewer infrastructure. It was caused by somebody putting things into the sewer pipes that never should have been there. Vandalism is one of the more polite words for that.

Plus the Mayor is making the City of Valdosta an offer of a location for a WaterGoat trash trap.

So I went Continue reading →

Help stop FL SB 738, the environmental lawsuit penalty bill 2024-01-29

It’s hard enough to bring an environmental lawsuit in Florida already.

If these bills pass, it would be much harder.

Please ask your Florida state legislators to vote no on SB 738 and HB 789, “Providing that the prevailing party in certain actions against the Department of Environmental Protection or a water management district is entitled to reasonable costs and attorney fees”.

[Bad Bill Alert: No loser pays winners legal fees; Tell legislators Vote No on SB 738 and HB 739]
Bad Bill Alert: No loser pays winners legal fees; Tell legislators Vote No on SB 738 and HB 739

Here’s a handy form by Waterkeepers Florida for contacting your Florida statehouse members:
https://waterkeepersflorida.good.do/SB738_HB789/SB738JUD/

 -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/