Tag Archives: creeks

Valdosta River Street sewage spill into Hightower Creek 2023-02-08

Update 2023-02-24: Another Valdosta E. Park Ave. sewage spill, 171,750 gallons 2023-02-20

Update 2023-02-18: Clean rivers 2023-02-16.

This one showed up Tuesday, February 14th in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, reporting a Valdosta spill of the previous Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

Spill report, manhole, map

The reason given was “Pipe failure”.

The good part is that with only 1,170 gallons spilled, there was probably little effect on Sugar Creek and none to worry about on the Withlacoochee River. Nothing unusual showed up in water quality testing by Valdosta or WWALS for that day or the next two.

Below is a map of the area, and a Google streetview of my best guess of where it was, going by Valdosta’s sloppy week-late report of “1700 block of River St”. 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

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 →

Videos: Morven Solar denied @ Brooks County Commission 2023-02-06

After two hours of speakers in the Public Hearing, the Brooks County Commission this Monday denied the Special Exception for Morven Solar, 3:1:1.

Speakers, Decision: Morven Solar @ Brooks County Commission 2023-02-06

Commissioner Myra Exum, after saying that whatever the Commissioners did they would be wrong, Continue reading →

Water budget, limit water withdrawals, do better aquifer recharge –WWALS to NFRWSP 2023-01-31

Update 2023-09-14: Draft 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP) workshop 2023-09-21.

Sent as PDF.

January 31, 2023

To: SRWMD, SJRWMD, partnership@sjrwmd.com

Re: Water budget, limit water withdrawals, do better aquifer recharge, NFRWSP

Dear Water Management Districts,

Thank you for the opportunity for public input.

Not every demand needs water withdrawals

At the November 15, 2022, public meeting about the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP), I thanked the presenters for all the hard work they had put into the details, such as in the North Florida-Southeast Georgia (NFSEG) regional groundwater flow model .

I have some issues with another level. I noticed repeated assertions in the public meeting that demand or projected demand are just taken as givens. So basically anybody who wants to build a golf course, or start another titanium mine, or plant almond trees that need lots of water, that’s just a given, that’s demand.

Continue reading →

Lowndes County nixes planned Dollar General –VDT 2023-01-26

Update 2023-05-06: Dollar General developer and property owner sue Lowndes County about rezoning denial –VDT 2023-05-03.

Thank you, Lowndes County Commission, and all the opposition speakers and writers, for this win written up in the local newspaper of record.

This win keeps some trash out of the Withlacoochee River, upstream from Valdosta and Florida, while stopping a foothold for further development too close to the river, avoiding clearcutting, impervious surface, and the flooding that would have caused.

Malia Thomas, Valdosta Daily Times, January 26, 2023, County nixes planned Dollar General,

VALDOSTA — Lowndes County residents felt heard as a contentious zoning request for a rural Dollar General was denied by the Lowndes County Commission.

Hearing, Location, Withlacoochee River

Teramore Development, the retail real estate company behind the request, petitioned to rezone three acres of the 35-acre property from Estate Agricultural to Crossroads Commercial.
Continue reading →

Valdosta litter reports: and then what? 2023-01-06

Absentee landlords are letting trash get into Valdosta streets and creeks. What is the City of Valdosta doing about it?

Somebody named Gary McMillan reported two Litter issues on December 6, 2022 and January 6, 2023 through Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix app. Both locations are slighlty uphill from One Mile Branch, which flows into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, upstream from the proposed Troupville Nature Park.

Trash near Baytree Drive and One Mile Branch map

City Marshalls in each case said they did something, which is good. But they closed out each ticket before reporting the actual outcome.

Both properties are owned by absentee landlords, who also own many other lots throughout Valdosta.

It’s time for the City of Valdosta to enforce its trash ordinances on property owners, especially absentee landlords.

Gary McMillan reported issue 13786041 on December 6, 2022:

Large amount of litter along Baytree Dr. and Jo Ree St. Some trash/litter is associated with a spilling bag of garbage. Much is not associated with the bag, but is typical of this neighborhood.

Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-06: Bad Upstream: Little and Withlacoochee Rivers 2023-01-05.

WWALS tests for Thursday upstream and downstream, and Valdosta upstream tests for Wednesday agree: clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

There was some rain last night, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers.

So happy swimming, fishing, and boating for New Years!

Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide, 2022-12-29

Two pollution spills have been reported this week.

On Sunday, December 18, 2022 (reported more than a week later on December 27), Ashburn, Georgia, spilled 3,000 gallons of sewage from their MLK Lift Station into Ashburn Branch, which flows into the Little River. But that’s too little and too far upstream to affect the river. Ashburn’s excuse: power failure. Maybe they should invest in a backup generator.

On Monday, December 26, 2022, the Chemours Trail Ridge South Mine southeast of Starke, Florida, spilled some unknown amount of not exactly sure what, at the top edge of the Santa Fe River Basin. Their excuse? Cold weather.

More on those spills later in separate posts. Continue reading →

Steep Hill Branch, Little River, Miller Bridge Road, Lowndes County, GA 1914-06-08

Phillip Williams found this 1914 plat map showing Steep Hill Branch.

Plat and maps: Steep Hill Branch

USGS did not know a name for it, but now its Steep Hill Branch in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT). Phillip says it’s been known by that name since at least the 1860s.

Evidently either the Little River was much straighter there back then, or they just didn’t bother to try to draw it more accurately. Nonetheless, it is clear this is the right place by the land lot and land district numbers, and the old property owner names. Continue reading →

Pretty clean rivers 2022-12-16

Update 2022-12-23: Mostly clean rivers 2022-12-22.

Update 2022-12-19: And also good water quality at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp for Saturday, December 17, 2022, test thanks to WWALS Water Quality Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall.

2022-12-17–knights-ferry.html Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, 2022-12-17