Valdosta’s bacterial counts are always low at State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells), where we moved the WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia to Florida and back.
Things were generally better last week in the Withlacoochee Basin, except for the Little River at GA 133, just above Troupville Boat Ramp. Continue reading
Fecal coliform went down last week to 195 at US 41 and 200 at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, right at the Georgia limit of 200 cfu/100 ml, while rising slightly at US 41 and at the GA-FL line at the Madison Highway Horn Ferry Bridge, according to Valdosta’s testing.
Wednesday of this week, we still don’t know, because Continue reading
Valdosta seems serious about finally opening its new force main and uphill Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant: they’re scheduling a ribbon cutting for May, a year ahead of the original schedule. According to both City Council Tim Carroll and Engineering Assistant Director Emily Davenport, the EPA has already pressure-tested the relevant lines and the plant, and approved them.
People downstream are rightly concerned at the many years they’ve endured wastewater from Valdosta. And recent schedule slips haven’t helped their perceptions, which is why actually holding Continue reading
Update 2017-05-18: Salt water intrusion inland is worse than you think, including the “Apalachicola salinity feature” up to the GA-FL line and east through Lowndes County, with a special additional brackish Valdosta feature. See Revised Hydrogeologic Framework of the Floridan Aquifer System 2016-03.
Update 2016-02-22: Fixed URLs for DEP files.
Salt water and other solids are coming up in Florida wells far inland from the sea,
right up to the state line, and it probably doesn’t stop there.
The problem is worse on the coasts and in south Florida, but
north central Florida is not immune, judging by these
preliminary maps by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Likely culprits would seem to include overpumping. Continue reading
Thirty-day comment periods closing 12 August 2015 to comment on
the US 84 widening project, say
two Public Advisories from GA-EPD Watershed Protection Branch.
One is in
the Satilla River watershed, about
“two existing open water ponds
(outflowing into jusrisdictional[sic] wetlands associated with Lees Branch)”:
those ponds are next to the groundwater-contaminating CSX railyard in Waycross.
One is in
the Upper Suwannee River watershed, about
“three existing open water ponds
(outflowing into jusrisdictional[sic] waters associated with Greasy Creek and the CSX railroad)”.
Maybe the
Southern Environmental Law Center letter
to GDOT and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers got some results,
although these advisories are from a different state agency.
The Upper Suwannee one starts at Continue reading
Yet more documentation on why gouging a pipeline under the Withlacoochee River, or through this Valdosta Limesink area anywhere, would be a bad idea:
In most watersheds (river basins) in Florida the interactions between ground water and surface water typically result in a single dynamic flow system. This direct hydraulic linkage results from numerous karst features (such as sinkholes, conduit systems in the underlying limestone, and springs) that facilitate the exchange of water between the surface and subsurface (fig. 1). Unique problems can arise in protecting water quality in karst areas because of the direct and rapid transport of recharge through conduits to the subsurface and through resurgence by springs. In some areas, recharge from unknown drainage pathways to areas of discharge may contribute to chemical and biological contamination of water supplies. Such contamination in karst areas has been documented by many studies.
Yes, it says Florida, but the geology doesn’t stop at the state line, as USGS spelled out in a 1999 study of the Withlacoochee River. It works like this in Georgia, too: Continue reading
“There is no reason anyone
in WWALS’ watersheds should accept any risk for the
profit of Williams Company, Spectra Energy, and FPL, when
any need for the Sabal Trail pipeline is unproven, and in
any case the pipeline does not serve anyone in
Georgia.”
Filed with FERC 15 November 2014, and appeared in FERC’s ecomment system 17 November 2014 (PDF).
WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
15 November 2014VIA ELECTRONIC FILING
Ms. Kimberly Bose
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20426Re: Southeast Market Pipelines Project,
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC Docket No PFl4-1-000
Williams Transco Hillabee Expansion Project, LLC Docket No PFl4-6-000Dear Ms. Bose,
I applaud FERC for getting Sabal Trail to move off of the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, Florida. However, the same karst limestone geology underlies the same Withlacoochee River and the Floridan Aquifer in Brooks and Lowndes Counties, Georgia, and WWALS Watershed Coalition continues Continue reading