Tag Archives: Floridan Aquifer

Minutes of August and September Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-21

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Update 2025-11-05: After some rather contentious testimony, the Berrien County Commission denied the subdividing request. WWALS videos to come. See also below about the other GORA request.

Here are the minutes from the first two meetings with the Public Hearings for the Cole Livingston proposed subdivision on Bradford and Strawder Roads and Old Valdosta Highway, at the Berrien County Planning Commission.

The actual decision will be made this evening, November 4, 2025, at 6 PM, by the Berrien County Commission, at 201 North Davis Street, Nashville, Georgia 31639.

These were received in response to a WWALS open records request, which is at the end below.

[Minutes of August and September, Berrien Planning Commission, Plus maps, Received 2025-10-21]
Minutes of August and September, Berrien Planning Commission, Plus maps, Received 2025-10-21

The Minutes are for these Berrien County Planning Commission meetings: Continue reading →

WWALS Day of Giving #GAGIVES 2025

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This is a nonprofit fundraiser supporting WWALS Watershed Coalition Inc.

It’s for the whole month of November 2025.

You can donate here:
https://www.gagives.org/story/WWALS-GAGIVES-2025

[WWALS Day of Giving, #GAGIVES 2025, All Month, November 2025]

WWALS Mission

WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

Advocacy

Many other organizations already promote paddling, swimming, fishing, birding, and other water-related activities hereabouts, as does WWALS for fun and education. WWALS exists to assist positive changes and to resist invasive problems, using strategies such as environmental monitoring and tactics such as outings and events in that advocacy.

Conservation

Continue reading →

Subdivisions in agricultural areas cause financial problems –Della Gladieux to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16

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Update 2025-10-31: Agenda: Berrien County Commission 2025-11-04.

Here is the document Della Gladieux gave to the Berrien Planning Commissioners last Thursday, at the Public Hearing about subdidiving on Bradford Road in an agricultural character area.

[Subdivisions in agricultural areas cause financial problems --Della Gladieux to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16]
Subdivisions in agricultural areas cause financial problems –Della Gladieux to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16

You can see her present it in this WWALS video:

Continue reading →

Videos: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision 2025-10-16

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Update 2025-10-21: Subdivisions in agricultural areas cause financial problems –Della Gladieux to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16.

The Berrien Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of the proposed subdividing on Bradford Road.

However, that only applies to part of what (almost) everybody thought was being considered. It turns out the three lots at the corner of Bradford Road and Old Valdosta Highway were already divided out in October 2024.

Yet there are still many issues of urban sprawl and its costs, stormwater runoff, etc.

The Chairman not only moved to recommend denial, he also said the county should stop approving subdivisions until a Comprehensive Land Use Plan can be drawn up and enforced.

[Videos: Public Hearing, Berrien Planning Commission, Bradford Road subdividing, Part already subdivided in 2024, Rest recommended denial 2025-10-16]
Videos: Public Hearing, Berrien Planning Commission, Bradford Road subdividing, Part already subdivided in 2024, Rest recommended denial 2025-10-16

Applicant Cole Livingston and his attorney Danny Studstill said that when the applicant bought the property in an online auction, he understood that all agency permits were already in order. Also, the corner tracts were subdivided before he bought them.

Zoning Administrator Teresa Willis said those corner tracts were heard in the “9-19-24” Planning Commission meeting, and that the subdividing was approved in the October 2024 County Commission meeting. For more about that, see below after the WWALS videos of this October 2025 meeting.

It all still adds up to plopping ten houses in the middle of an agriculture character area, with runoff and recharge issues that affect the neighbors, Gin Branch Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and groundwater down to the Floridan Aquifer.

Chair Parrish Akins clarified that all the previous testimony in the preceding two Public Hearings was still valid. Then he asked for further comment for or against.

Della Gladieux supplied a tome of objections. Continue reading →

Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16

Update 2025-10-20: Videos: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision 2025-10-16.

After it was tabled a second time, there’s yet another Public Hearing about plopping ten houses in the middle of an agriculture character area, with runoff and recharge issues that affect the neighbors, Gin Branch Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and groundwater down to the Floridan Aquifer. As well as all the usual issues of trespassing, poaching, pets, livestock, traffic, and road erosion.

Plus transparency and the Berrien Planning Commission should follow the Berrien County Code and Comprehensive Plan.

The farther out from existing services, the more a subdivision costs the county in calls on Sheriff Deputies, Fire Rescue, school buses and places at the schools. Property taxes on those houses would not pay for all that. The rest of Berrien County would have to pay the difference.

[Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, Thursday, October 16, 2025]
Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, Thursday, October 16, 2025

For what happened at the previous Public Hearing and why it was tabled, see previous post:
https://wwals.net/?p=68463

Here’s a facebook event to encourage people to come to this Public Hearing:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1476163917000214/

This is what the Public Notices on the roads say:

PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Hearing:

Cole Livingston, Subdividing multiple lots off the Old Valdosta Hwy, Bradford Rd and Strawder Rd
Ray City, Ga 31645

Time: 5:30 October 16, 2025 Planning Commission Meeting
6:00 pm November 4, 2025 County Commissioners Meeting

Public Hearing

Location: Planning Commission 201 N. Davis Street Nashville GA
County Commissioner’s Board Room 201 North Davis Street Nashville Ga 31639 Continue reading →

Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing –WWALS to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18

Update 2025-10-07: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16.

I handed this letter to the Berrien Planning Commissioners and the Zoning Administrator before I spoke to them at the recent Public Hearing. They tabled this item for another month, awaiting more documents from the applicant, Cole Livingston, for his proposal to subdivide for ten houses in an agricultural character area on Bradford and Strawder Roads and Old Valdosta Highway, in Berrien County, Georgia, draining to Gin Branch Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing, WWALS 2025-09-18, to Berrien Planning Commission]
Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing, WWALS 2025-09-18, to Berrien Planning Commission

September 18, 2025

To: Teresa Willis
Berrien County Zoning Administrator
229-686-2149
twillis@berriencountyga.gov
201 N. Davis Street Room 122
Nashville GA 31639

Re: Subdividing M&P 061-14-000, 061-16-002, Old Valdosta Rd. & Bradford Rd.

Dear Berrien County Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission,

Please recommend denial of the proposed subdividing, because:

  1. House lots would produce more runoff, which would run onto neighboring properties, as attested by several neighbors at the previous Public Hearing on August 21, 2025. See attached LIDAR map and attached wetland and flood zone map.
  2. Runoff would carry trash and other contamination into Gin Branch Creek that runs north across Bradford Road and west into the Withlacoochee River. See attached map of Gin Branch Creek.
  3. Under Bradford Road and along Gin Branch Creek is an aquifer recharge zone, into the groundwater from which we all drink. We do not need to risk more contaminants possibly getting into that. See attached aquifer recharge map.
  4. Increased traffic and runoff would erode Bradford and Strawder Roads, requiring more work by the county to fix them.
  5. The houses would not be accessory to farm operations as in the Berrien County Comprehensive Plan Strategy for an Agriculture Character Area, which says: Continue reading →

Videos: Bradford Road subdividing @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18

Update 2025-10-07: Public Hearing, Bradford Road subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-10-16.

Update 2025-09-22: Water issues, Bradford Road subdividing –WWALS to Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18.

Update 2025-09-20: Road costs, well risks, taxpayers should decide –Lisa Sumner for Wayne Nash 2025-09-18.

Once again, the Greater Berrien Planning Commission tabled the proposed Cole Livingston subdividing on Bradford and Strawder Roads and Old Valdosta Highway. Once again, it was because of missing materials from the applicant. They did not, however, mention the missing Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan that caused the previous tabling.

[Tabled again, Bradford Road subdividing, @ Berrien Planning Commission, 2025-09-17]
Tabled again, Bradford Road subdividing, @ Berrien Planning Commission, 2025-09-17

They did allow quite a few people to speak, even though they tabled this item.

Before all that, they tabled the minutes from the August 21 meeting due to transcription errors.

And they unanimously recommended approval for another item, a McCorvey duplex on Dawn Street, rezoning from R15 to R6.

If they stick to the third Thursday of the month, the next Public Hearing on the Livingston item will be Thursday, October 16, 2025.

Below are videos of each agenda item or speaker, followed by a WWALS video playlist.

See also Continue reading →

Applicant packet, Bradford Road Subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-08-21

Update 2025-09-19: Videos: Bradford Road subdividing @ Berrien Planning Commission 2025-09-18.

This is the packet of materials the applicant, Cole Livingston, supplied to the Greater Berrien Planning Commission at their previous Public Hearing, August 21, 2025.

[Applicant packet, Bradford Road Subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, August 21, 2025]
Applicant packet, Bradford Road Subdivision @ Berrien Planning Commission, August 21, 2025

This item got tabled for a month, due to citizens pointing out legal irregularities.

The new Public Hearing is this
Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:30 PM, in the same place,
County Commissioner’s Board Room 201 North Davis Street Nashville Ga 31639.
https://wwals.net/?p=68375

You can write or call your elected and appointed officials and get your neighbors to do so.

And you can sign the petition against this subdivision of ten houses on agricultural land:
https://chng.it/kKDVsN92xT

A PDF of the packet scanned by WWALS is on the WWALS website. Images of each page are below. Continue reading →

Need more river testing and more types of testing 2025-09-13

Update 2025-09-17: Clean Santa Fe River 2025-09-10, Filthy Sugar Creek, Dirty upstream Withlacoochee River 2025-09-11.

E. coli is the canary in the coal mine for other contaminants in waterways.

For years WWALS has been asking the state of Florida to test frequently in many places on all rivers, to very little response FDEP did do some testing for chemical and biological tracers, including DNA tests, after Valdosta’s huge December 2019 spill, but that petered out. While FDEP was doing that, those results helped identify another source of contamination that was not Valdosta.

WWALS did test the Withlacoochee River for PFAS forever chemicals and round some, although much less than many other rivers, and no higher below the outfall of Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant or PCA’s package plant.

FDEP continued with quarterly tests for a while, and put at least its fecal bacteria results online. But it stopped doing that last year.

The 2020 GA-EPD Consent Order on Valdosta required bacterial testing of the Withlacoochee River over 40 river miles three times a week, for four years. Once those four years were up, Valdosta dropped back to two locaitons once a week.

USGS ceased financial support for nitrate and pH monitoring in eight Florida springs this year. It is not clear whether SRWMD picked up the slack.

We need more testing, not less.

[Need more river testing, and more types of testing, DNA, PFAS, metals, etc., by FDEP and others]
Need more river testing, and more types of testing, DNA, PFAS, metals, etc., by FDEP and others

Treated wastewater still has PFAS and other contaminants, as Joe Squiteri of Lee, Florida, pointed out in the recent meeting of the Florida Rivers Task Force with the City of Valdosta. Continue reading →

Former Artesian Spring, Saunders Park, Valdosta, GA 2017-09-16

Excerpted from another post eight years ago. This barely trickling spring is on Sugar Creek, which flows to the Withlacoochee River. It is a cautionary tale for overpumping groundwater.

[Former Artesian Spring, Saunders Park, Valdosta, GA 2017-09-16, On Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Former Artesian Spring, Saunders Park, Valdosta, GA 2017-09-16, On Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

My father told me there used to be a bath house on River Street west of downtown Valdosta, fed by an artesian well. I remember decades ago there being tumble-down buildings. In recent years I never could locate them.

Turns out that’s because it became John W. Saunders Park, 1151 River Street, Valdosta, Georgia. Continue reading →