Tag Archives: e. Coli

Alapaha River clean, Sugar Creek worse 2025-01-16

Update 2025-01-24: Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-17; Clean Withlacoochee River and Franks Creek 2025-01-19; Clean New River 2025-01-20.

Thursday WWALS water quality samples showed the Alapaha River clean at Lakeland and Naylor.

But Valdosta Thursday samples showed Sugar Creek worse again at Gornto Road.

As noted yesterday, the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers also seem clean, although I’d avoid the Withlacoochee near Sugar Creek, and Sugar Creek itself.

We hear there is a Sugar Creek bypass, but that creek is still filthy from the sewer line break upstream of Gornto Road on down to the Withlacoochee River.

If you like rain (Saturday) or cold (Sunday), this weekend may be good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, elsewhere, such as the Little, Alapaha, Santa Fe, Ichetucknee, or Suwannee Rivers.

[Alapaha River clean, Sugar Creek worse 2025-01-16, Rain coming Saturday, Cold all next week]
Alapaha River clean, Sugar Creek worse 2025-01-16, Rain coming Saturday, Cold all next week

Alapaha River

WWALS tester Kimberly Godden Tanner for Thursday got zero (0) E. coli at Lakeland Boat Ramp. Can’t get cleaner than that. Continue reading →

Sugar Creek still filthy Saturday in Valdosta test results 2025-01-11

Update 2025-01-17: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15.

GA-EPD has updated the Valdosta Sugar Creek spill to 15,000 gallons. That’s more than 10,000 gallons, which is a major spill. Valdosta’s state-required reporting after it shows Sugar Creek still filthy for Saturday.

[Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill]
Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill

Valdosta’s new web page on 2025 Sugar Creek Spill Testing shows 5,300 Fecal coliform and 5,500 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Gornto Road for Saturday. That’s 5.5 times the 1,000 alert limit. Continue reading →

Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Malia Thomas tried to cram two or three stories into her WTXL TV report about Valdosta closing the Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek. She asked me about all of the effects of the bridge closure, contamination of Sugar Creek, sewage spills, Valdosta municipal bonds for water and sewer projects, how those are all related, and what caused them. A for effort to Malia.

[Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells]
Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, Gornto Road closed @ Sugar Creek 2024-12-20, Valdosta $67 M water & sewer bonds, Report sewage sights or smells

Among other things I said on-camera: to help find the source of the ongoing contamination in Sugar Creek, if anyone sees or smells sewage near Sugar Creek, One Mile Branch, or Hightower Creek, please let us know:
https://wwals.net/report/

And contact Valdosta Utilities:
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities

After excerpts from the WTXL story, I’ve included the Valdosta press releases about the bridge closure and businesses remaining open.

Malia Thomas, WTXL TV, December 20, 2024, Recent flood damage prompts repairs to Gornto Road bridge in Valdosta:
Valdosta works to repair Gornto Road after flood erosion compromises Earl Wetherington Bridge.

…

  • Heavy flooding from Hurricane Helene caused erosion under the Earl Wetherington Bridge on Gornto Road in Valdosta.
Continue reading →

Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta? 2024-12-17

Update 2024-12-21: Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19.

Update 2024-12-21: Malia Thomas of WTXL TV at closed Gornto Road bridge over Sugar Creek 2024-12-20.

Yesterday I went to the locations of all the recent creek water quality tests in Valdosta. No sewage spill warning signs were posted at any of them.

I understand that it can be difficult to find the cause of this ongoing contamination of these creeks weeks after the flash flood.

But how much can it cost to plant sewage spill warning signs?

There were no signs at Wainwright Drive or W Gordon Street on One Mile Branch, where Valdosta got 2,040 and 1,045 cfu/100 mL E. coli for Tuesday last week. The alert limit is 1,000. Not even where the Azalea City Trail goes along One Mile Branch at Wainwright Drive.

Not at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek where Valdosta got 1,120, nor at Baytree Road nor at the Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle sewer line on Sugar Creek where WWALS got 13,433 and 6,533 for Wednesday of last week. The higher the numbers, the more likely someone will get sick, either from the E. coli itself, or from other contaminants in sewage.

Not at Gornto Road on Sugar Creek where Valdosta got 11,900 and WWALS got TNTC, Too Numerous to Count. And not at Sugar Creek in front of Berta’s Kitchen, where WWALS got TNTC, and not at the bottom of Berta’s parking lot near the WaterGoat.

Also not at Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River, even though Valdosta has previously posted a sewage spill sign there when there was Withlacoochee River contamination, such as the 695 Valdosta got at GA 133 for Tuesday of last week. The one-time limit is 410.

I did find one sewage spill sign: facedown in the dirt between Berta’s parking lot and the WaterGoat.

How about some sewage spill warning signs, Valdosta, planted where people can see them?

[Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta, E. coli counts remain sky-high 2024-12-17, One Mile Branch, Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

Here is a chart of the numbers. Continue reading →

Horrid Sugar Creek 2024-12-02

Update 2024-12-06: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers: Sugar Creek still nasty 2024-12-05.

Update 2024-12-05: Valdosta has published their results for Tuesday 2024-12-03. Lower than ours at St. Augustine Road (380), but way higher at Gornto Road: 12,700, more than a dozen times the 1,000 alert limit. There has been no rain. Is there some other explanation than an intermittent sewage leak between St. Augustine Road and Gornto? -jsq
https://www.valdostacity.com/utilities/river-stream-water-quality-data/nov-2024-overflow-testing-results

Down at the WaterGoat was the worst place for E. coli on Sugar Creek on Monday: more than three times the alert limit at 3,200 cfu/100 mL.

It is not all coming from Two Mile Branch: we also got bad results upstream.

[Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?]
Still very bad 2024-12-02, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Where is the sewage spill or spills?

Some of the colonies are faint, but they’re blue with bubbles, which is what we count: (43+28+25) * 100 / 3 = 3,200 cfu/100mL, which is more than three times the 1,000 alert limit. . Continue reading →

Madison Health lifts Health Advisory for Withlacoochee River 2024-11-20

Update 2024-11-22: Cleaner Withlacoochee River 2024-11-21.

We have asked for their Friday and Monday results, and we will post them when we get them.

[Madison Health Lifts Withlacoochee River Health Advisory 2024-10-20]
Madison Health Lifts Withlacoochee River Health Advisory 2024-10-20

November 20, 2024

…

Madison, Fla.— The Florida Department of Health in Madison County (DOH-Madison) is lifting the advisory for high bacterial levels in the Withlacoochee River.

Tests completed on Continue reading →

DOH-Madison Issues Health Advisory Near Withlacoochee River 2024-11-13

Update 2024-11-14: Bad Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, One Mile Branch and Alapaha River 2024-11-13.

I don’t know why it took them a week to do this.

[DOH-Madison Health Advisory Near Withlacoochee River 2024-11-13 due to a wastewater overflow in the City of Valdosta, Georgia]
DOH-Madison Health Advisory Near Withlacoochee River 2024-11-13 due to a wastewater overflow in the City of Valdosta, Georgia

November 13, 2024

Florida
HEALTH

DOH-Madison Issues Health Advisory
Near Withlacoochee River

Contact:
Lisa Hayes
Lisa.Hayes@flhealth.gov
850-879-0683

Madison, Fla.— The Florida Department of Health in Madison County (DOH-Madison) has issued a health advisory to residents and visitors near the Withlacoochee River in North Florida due to a wastewater overflow in the City of Valdosta, Georgia, that resulted in E.coli levels exceeding the 235 MPN/100ml threshold. It is recommended that residents and visitors avoid coming in contact with the impacted water, such as swimming or fishing.

DOH-Madison, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Suwannee River Water Management District are working together to assess and closely monitor the situation. As these assessments continue, we will provide updates to the public.

DOH plans to conduct sampling and testing this week along the Withlacoochee River.

Until further information is known regarding possible bacterial contamination of the river, residents and visitors in the area are urged to take precautions when in contact with the Withlacoochee River.

Water contaminated with elevated fecal bacteria presents several health risks to humans. Microbes normally found with fecal bacteria could cause gastrointestinal issues and other conditions.

Anyone who comes in contact with the river water should wash thoroughly, especially before eating or drinking. Children and older adults, as well as people with weakened immune systems, are particularly vulnerable to disease, so every precaution should be taken if in contact with the river water.

For more information about the potential health effects of wastewater overflow, contact DOH- Madison at 850-973-5000 or visit Madison.FloridaHealth.gov.

### Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2024-11-08

Update 2024-11-09: Cleaner downstream Withlacoochee River 2024-11-09.

Two WWALS testers got very bad results for Friday on Sugar Creek in Valdosta and for Holly point on the Withlacoochee River down near the Suwannee.

Best to avoid the Withlacoochee River for a few more days at least, because of E. coli. Also, the Withlacoochee and the Alapaha are in Action Stage, so too high anyway.

Better luck with the Suwannee or Santa Fe Rivers, or the Ichetucknee if any park entrances are open there.

Remember, many parks and put-ins remain closed after Hurricane Helene. So check before you go.

[Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2024-11-08 Ongoing spills in Valdosta after flash flood]
Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2024-11-08 Ongoing spills in Valdosta after flash flood

The good news: very little more rain has fallen since the Wednesday flash flood.

The bad news: still no report of the remaining sewage spills stopping, and still no sewage spill warning signs in Valdosta. Continue reading →

Filthy Withlacoochee and Little Rivers 2024-11-07

Update 2024-11-10: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2024-11-08.

Valdosta Utilities got bad results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 for Wednesday, and WWALS got much worse for Thursday. Plus the Little River at Troupville Boat Ramp (also GA 133) tested about as bad for Thursday.

Valdosta reported seven sewage spills, two ongoing. All but one of those spill sites has spilled before. One of the ongoing is at the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, so bad news. The other ongoing is at Wainwright Drive, site of numerous previous spills, now with two (2) manholes spewing sewage.

The good news for Valdosta is that with the Little River sky-high E. coli reading being about as high as the one for the Withlacoochee River, not all of the contamination can be coming from Valdosta, because the Little River is not downstream from Valdosta.

The foot of rain on Valdosta from the fringe of Hurricane Rafael that caused all this has also raised the Withlacoochee River into Action or Minor Flood Stages, and the Alapaha River at Statenville is heading for Action Stage.

So if you want to paddle, motor, fish, or swim this weekend, I’d avoid the Little, Withlacoochee, or Alapaha Rivers. Better luck with the Suwannee or Santa Fe Rivers, or the Ichetucknee if any park entrances are open there.

Remember, many parks and put-ins remain closed after Hurricane Helene. So check before you go.

[Filthy Withlacoochee and Little Rivers 2024-11-07 Also flooding after a foot of rain]
Filthy Withlacoochee and Little Rivers 2024-11-07 Also flooding after a foot of rain

Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-10-31

WWALS testers Kimberly Godden Tanner and Cindy Vedas got very low E. coli for the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers Thursday. For the Withlacoochee River Wednesday, WWALS tester Russ Tatum got very low results, and Valdosta Utilities got low results.

The weather prediction is still sunny.

The water levels are back down to normal or low everywhere in the Suwannee River Basin. Some rivers, such as the Withlacoochee near Valdosta, are too low for much paddling or motoring.

However, many parks and put-ins remain closed after Hurricane Helene, including Langdale Park and Ichetucknee Springs North.

So if you can find an accessible stretch, happy paddling, motoring, swimming, and fishing.

[Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-31 No sewage spills and no rain: happy paddling!]
Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-31 No sewage spills and no rain: happy paddling!

Alapaha River

Kimberley Godden Tanner noted for Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach on the Alapaha River Thursday, Continue reading →