We saw many creeks and seeps, and a few shoals barely visible as waves, on the Alapaha River from Mayday to Statenville, all in Echols County, Georgia, Saturday, May 11, 2024.
We had two chainsaws and two handsaws, but did not need to saw any deadfalls to get through.
We did see more power boats than I’ve ever seen on that river.
Thanks to Shawn O’Connor for leading, and to everyone else for paddling.
Continue readingUpdate 2024-05-08: Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2024-06-08.
Usually, Withlacoochee River water flows into this distributary into a sinkhole. But last Tuesday water was coming out into the river from the Chitty Bend East Distributary. So this swallet changed from a sink to a spring, and the creek changed from a distributary to a tributary.
![[Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River 2024-04-30, Pumping out a stream --Amanda Davis]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-30--withlacoochee-swallet/fbmany.jpg)
Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River 2024-04-30, Pumping out a stream –Amanda Davis
Amanda Davis sent these videos that she took on Tuesday, April 30, 2024,
when the
Pinetta gauge was about 55.8 NAVD88.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UCE7siKv_ME
This is in Hamilton County, Florida, upstream from Florida Campsites Ramp and Madison Blue Spring.
WWALS last paddled in there Continue reading
Update 2024-05-04: Clean rivers and some creeks, but rain 2024-05-02.
Update 2024-05-03: Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills 2024-04-11.
This week, the rivers that have been tested were clean: Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe.
This is despite a Wednesday inland High Springs sewage spill of 1,500 gallons.
And clean even in the aftermath of all the spills of last week. There is more about sewage spills below, including that Valdosta did test the Friday and Saturday of the big spill, and the Withlacoochee River was filthy then.
But it’s clean now, and water levels are coming down in all the rivers. So if you don’t mind still a bit high and fast, happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.
Testing at State Line by Madison Health and FDEP on Wednesday last week corroborated the WWALS result for the previous day. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) also tested downstream at CR 150 (Sullivan Launch) and at FL 6, and all three sites again Thursday, getting clean results each time. That corroborated the WWALS result for Holly Point downstream on that Thursday.
Madison Health has not yet withdrawn its health advisory for the Withlacoochee River, but I imagine it probably will the next time they or FDEP test.
And it turns out Valdosta is posting on its website the results of the testing it is required to do by the Georgia Environmental Pro Division (GA-EPD) after each major spill. None of Quitman, Tifton, Rochelle, Ashburn, or Homerville are posting their results, so that’s a good thing Valdosta is doing.
Those Valdosta results for this Wednesday and last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday also corroborate the WWALS results at US 84 and GA 133.
As noted last week, apparently the massive flow of the river from the rains diluted or washed the contamination downstream.
But Valdosta got very different results for Friday April 12, and Saturday April 13. Continue reading
Update 2024-04-13: Valdosta, Quitman, and Tifton sewage spills in big rains 2024-04-11.
Before the recent rains, Valdosta had a sewage spill caused by grease and rags, of about 5,000 gallons into a detention pond on Huntley Drive that drains into Cherry Creek, and then the Withlacoochee River.
This is why you should never put fats, oils, or greases (FOG), or, obviously, rags down your drain.
This spill has not yet shown up on the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report; I have asked GA-EPD about that. However, Tifton and Quitman have two spills each in today’s report.
And Valdosta just announced it had seven spills during the big rain April 11, ranging from 900 gallons to 150,000 gallons. At first glance they seem to have gone into One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, and Three Mile Branch, all leading to the Withlacoochee River. Stay tuned for more.
![[Huntley Drive Sewage Spill, Valdosta, GA 2024-04-09, Caused by grease and rags, indirectly into Cherry Creek]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-09--valdosta-huntley-drive-sewage-spill/fbmany.jpg)
Huntley Drive Sewage Spill, Valdosta, GA 2024-04-09, Caused by grease and rags, indirectly into Cherry Creek
Shown on the WWALS
map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
I compliment the City of Valdosta for a precise location, 4051 Huntley Drive, and for a timely press release, which we received the day after the spill.
Here is the Valdosta press release about the Huntley Drive spill. Continue reading
Update 2024-04-05: Apparently clean rivers after rain 2024-04-04.
We got bad results for Thursday for the Alapaha River. We have few other results, but we know there was much rain Wednesday and Thursday, and that usually washes contamination into the rivers.
If I were you, I would pick something else to do this weekend instead of boating, swimming, or fishing.
Also, Ashburn had yet another spill, although that was probably too far upstream to have much effect. It sure looks like there was some sort of overflow from the city of Alapaha wastewater treatment plant, even though none has yet shown up in the reports.
Instead, join us a week from Saturday for Withlacoochee River Earth Day Cleanup, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-04-13.
Valdosta’s most recent upstream Withlacoochee River results are for Wednesday a week ago. Apparently they did not post their Wednesday results for this week because today is a holiday.
Similarly, most of the usual WWALS testers are off because of the holiday weekend.
![[Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-28--wq/many.jpg)
Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28
There are no Valdosta Monday results, because, Continue reading
You can still oppose HB 1146, the rich man’s private water system bill.
You’ll be on the same side as the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), all of whom oppose HB 1146.
You can use this Protect Georgia alert to oppose HB 1146:
https://protectgeorgia.org/
Or use this information to contact your Georgia state senator:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-senate/
Here’s an excerpt of what GAWP wrote: Continue reading
Update 2024-04-05: Now with smartphone method for googledrive.
The document: 2024-04-05–WWALS-Water-Quality-Testing-Assurance.pdf.
See also the WWALS Water Quality Testing Committee
and
the Water Quality Testing web page:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/
-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/
![[Why Quality Assurance is Important]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-01-06--wwals-water-quality-assurance/2023-01-06--WWALS-Water-Quality-Testing-Assurance-0001.jpg)
Why Quality Assurance is Important
PDF
A century ago, Louis Pendleton of Philadelphia, formerly of Valdosta, published a newspaper story about the Ouaquaphenogan with a version of the ‘daughters of the sun’ legend and references to William Bartram.
Vickie Ledbetter Everitte posted this newspaper page image on March 13, 2024, in the Valdosta Heritage Foundation facebook group. She transcribed the date as March 13, 1913, but on closer inspection those look much more like eights than threes.
She has since clarified, “The date is 1913 – My print at home is much clearer. Sorry for any confusion.”
![[THE OKEFINOKE SWAMP IN 1890 --Louis Pendleton 1918-03-18]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1918-03-18--okefinoke-swamp-in-1890/432919205_7941609682520260_2895925096210887758_n.jpg)
THE OKEFINOKE SWAMP IN 1890 –Louis Pendleton 1918-03-18
Here is a transcription of the article.
…
THE OKEFINOKE SWAMP IN 1890
Col. Ebenezer Wakely, of Chicago, has been saving up old copies of The Valdosta Times for many years and occasionally he sends a copy to this office containing some matter of interest. This week we received a copy of the edition of April 5, 1890, containing an article from Mr. Louis Pendleton, which was written for the Atlanta Constitution in regard to the Okefinokee swamps. The article is of interest at the present time and is reproduced here. It is as follows:
“Editor Constitution: Among those who have recently discussed the Okefinokee swamp, looking toward its sale by the State to the highest bidder, there are perhaps some who do not know that the great morass was the subject of history as long ago as a hundred years, and the subject of legend at a still earlier period.
“Not long since, Continue reading
Update 2024-03-08: A 19th-century navigable definition does not work for 21st-century river economies 2024-02-29.
I watched it so you don’t have to,
Monday’s meeting of the Georgia Natural Resources & Environment Environmental Quality Subcommittee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnl5fJP5ptM&t=1425s
The subcommittee is meeting again
at 1PM today, February 28, 2024, with HB 1397 as the only
thing on the agenda, and Rep. John Corbett again chairing.
https://www.house.ga.gov/Documents/Agendas/Natural%20Resources/January%2024,%202011%2027.pdf
See also the input I sent the legislators yesterday, Navigable stream additions to GA HB 1397 2024-02-27.
This is not a transcript. Except where I use quotation marks, it is a paraphrase of what I found to be the important points of the Monday subcommittee meeting.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. James Burchett (District 176, Waycross) said he was concerned about people boating on oxbows and creeks onto private property, so the bill definitely did not include tributaries as navigable. He worries that currently the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) is in a difficult position of having to decide matters of law.
Burchett said that he constructed the list Continue reading
Who is doing this mysterious digging, and why?
Maybe to plant a fence?
That would be a good thing, to keep trash out of Hightower Creek, which flows into Sugar Creek, past the WaterGoat, into the Withlacoochee River, at the early takeout for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.
![[Digging in the Stafford parking lot, St. Augustine Road at Hightower Creek 2024-02-27]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-27--st-augustine-road-parking-lot-hightower-creek/igmany.jpg)
Digging in the Stafford parking lot, St. Augustine Road at Hightower Creek 2024-02-27
It’s about time something happened there, where I videoed Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson in December 2022 saying something needed to be done. According to Valdosta City ordinances, it is the parking lot owner’s responsiblity to keep trash from escaping the property, no matter where it came from.
Thanks to Russell Allen McBride for spotting this digging.
Thanks to Gretchen Quarterman for photographing. She noted, “Enterprise guy was on parking lot. He knew nothing about it.”
It seems unlikely to be the City of Valdosta, considering how reluctant they are to do anything on private property.
Maybe it’s the parking lot manager, Stafford Development Company. Continue reading
![[Creeks, seeps, waves over shoals, and many power boats, Mayday to Statenville, Alapaha River 2024-04-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-05-11--mayday-statenville-alapaha-river-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25; Filthy Withlacoochee River & creeks 2024-04-12, 2024-04-13]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-25--wq/many.jpg)
![[Last days to oppose GA HB 1146, the rich private water system bill. ACCG, GMA, and GAWP all oppose HB 1146.]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-27--ga-sb-1146-rich-private-water-systems/many.jpg)
![[Rep. James Burchett, Navigability in HB 1397 in GA House Natural Resources & Environment Quality Subcommittee 2024-02-26]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-26--ga-hnre-hb1398/many.jpg)