Tag Archives: Floridan Aquifer

USGS warns Withlacoochee River already leaks into Floridan Aquifer

There’s a reason Valdosta’s water wells are 400 feet deep. Its earlier, shallower wells were sucking up Withlacoochee River water that still leaks into groundwater. Should we risk a fracked methane pipeline digging under that same river and possibly causing more sinkholes and underground movement of contaminants, some perhaps coming from the pipeline itself or its demands for pressure testing water?

Sustainability of Ground-water Resources, by William M. Alley Thomas E. Reilly O. Lehn Franke, 1 January 1999, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey – Publisher. In Box E on Page 63:

The Connection Between Surface-Water Quality and Ground-Water Quality in a Karst Aquifer


Figure E-1. Estimated percentage of Withlacoochee River water in ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer, June 1991. (Modified from Plummer and others, 1998.)
The Upper Floridan aquifer, which is the sole source of water supply for Valdosta, Georgia, and much of the surrounding area, receives large volumes of direct discharge from the Withlacoochee River through sinkholes in the streambed or off-channel. A highly interconnected conduit system has developed Continue reading →

Video: Withlacoochee River and springs where Sabal Trail pipeline would cross

Chris Mericle’s introducation says this video:

shows some of the springs, sinkholes, and other karst features that lie in close proximity to the proposed Sabal Trail gas pipeline where it crosses the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton and Madison County, Florida.

Including active sinkholes right next to the proposed pipeline route. And a karst window a couple of hundred feet from the pipeline.

Here’s the video:

The video is about the part of the Withlacoochee River where Continue reading →

Water and property rights more important than methane pipeline profits

This is a long version of the op-ed sent to many newspapers in WWALS’ watersheds; there is also a short version. -jsq

Protesters drove as far as nine hours to Leesburg, GA July 10th, where Spectra Energy lost its eminent domain demand for its Sabal Trail 36-inch, hundred-foot right-of-way natural gas pipeline, and local landowners countersued. Spectra hobbled back to Houston, Texas bound by strict conditions for surveying that one Mitchell County property, and bound to haunt south Georgia again for a trespass jury trial.

The ensuing flurry of newspaper op-eds by Spectra’s Andrea Grover plus a page-long Sabal Trail interview in the Valdosta Daily Times (VDT), didn’t mention numerous Sabal Trail downsides. Continue reading →

Water and property rights over methane pipeline profits

This is an op-ed submission sent to many newspapers in WWALS’ watersheds and beyond. There is also a longer version. -jsq

Protesters drove up to nine hours to Leesburg, GA July 10th, where Spectra Energy lost an eminent domain demand for its Sabal Trail 36-inch, hundred-foot right-of-way natural gas pipeline, and local landowners countersued. Spectra hobbled back to Houston, Texas, bound by strict conditions for surveying that one property, and bound to haunt south Georgia again for a trespass jury trial.

Spectra bragged in op-eds about 50 public meetings, never mentioning overwhelming public opposition in Moultrie, Valdosta, Clyattville, Madison and elsewhere to that gash through our fields, forests, and wetlands, and under our Withlacoochee River twice.

Sabal Trail’s air quality permit application with Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division met immediate Continue reading →

Proposed EPA Water rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposes some new rules to clarify Clean Water Act protection. Some people and organizations have concerns about that, and the EPA has now responded to those concerns. Comment periods are still open for you to provide input directly to EPA about the proposed rule.

Here’s the EPA’s Waters of the United States Proposed Rule. EPA says clarification of the Clean Water Act was requested by a broad range of state, tribal, and local government agencies and elected officials and NGOs, ranging from AASHTO to the National Association of State Foresters. One of the two examples EPA cites of state enforcement problems is on the Flint River in Georgia:

Recreation in Lake Blackshear, Georgia

Continue reading →

Suwannee Bioregion Coalition?

Related to population centers in the Suwannee River watershed, someone asked, “Do we need an interstate Suwannee Bioregion Coalition to guard the waters that feed into the Suwannee River?” We’ve got pieces of it already cooperating to some extent in opposing the Sabal Trail pipeline. There are many other even larger issues that everyone in the Suwannee River basin faces.

In south Georgia and north Florida we have Continue reading →

Avoid our area –Florida’s Suwannee River Water Management District to FERC

What they told FERC today was more subtle than just “avoid our area”, but after the Sabal Trail methane pipeline avoid karst limestone, any unconfined areas of our Floridan aquifer, caves, springs, wetlands, drilling under rivers, blasting, or using groundwater for testing pipes or disposing of it afterwards, where can that pipeline go?

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) covers the Florida parts of WWALS’ watersheds, and our Withlacoochee River is named in the SRWMD comments. Unlike Georgia’s Suwannee-Satilla Water management District, SRWMD has state funding and staff that produced some very interesting comments.

This is the first I’ve heard of this point about source and disposal of testing water: Continue reading →

Entering the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone –Kristofer Graham

Written as a newspaper letter to the editor and posted here with permission. -jsq

Dear Residents

Did you know Lanier County doesn’t have zoning laws. Which that mean they can development on wetlands and on our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and build resident houses, subdivided, commercial building etc., cut timber on wetlands, on our watersheds and a Natural Gas Company want to put a pipeline through on these precious lands they can. It will destroy the land environment like our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone (aka our drinking water) and our wetlands and our watersheds. Because it not protected like it should.

Lanier County Groundwater Recharge Areas Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone. It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there forever.

I notices they got those lands zone as Ag and V5 zone. Which those zone doesn’t protect it and in fact it can destroy those lands Eco system because they spray pesticide for there farm crops near the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and wetlands, our watersheds. It will Continue reading →

Aquifer storage meeting in Newton, GA 7 November 2013

It looks like SB 213 is being resurrected after falling in the Georgia House in March. This GEFA ASR meeting is in Newton, which is not far west of Tifton. When will they be coming for the waters of the Little River, too?

Jim West in the Albany Herald 29 March 2013, Flint River bill fails in the House, quoted Gordon Rogers, Flint Riverkeeper, and then referred to Georgia Water Coalition:

One aspect of the bill river advocates found objectionable was the concept of “stream flow augmentation,” including aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR, which Coalition officials define as “the injection of ground water into the aquifer, which would be extracted later and sent downstream.” According to the Coalition, the process could cause irreversible contamination of the aquifer.

GEFA News 30 October 2013, Aquifer Storage Project Public Meeting Scheduled, Continue reading →

Videos: Aquifers, sinkholes, and groundscans –Prof. Don Thieme

We had to move to a larger room, so many attended this groundwater talk at VSU (about 90). Plus a guest appearance by SAVE.

Crowded small room Larger Magnolia Room

Coastal Plain Surficial Deposits, Groundwater Resources, and Recent Subsidence in south Georgia by Prof. Donald M. Thieme @ VSU for WWALS 2013-10-09 Here are Dr. Donald M. Thieme‘s slides in PDF, with his longer title:

Coastal Plain Surficial Deposits, Groundwater Resources, and Recent Subsidence in south Georgia

While we are lucky to have abundant groundwater, both from the Upper Floridan Aquifer 100 feet below us trapped in Eocene limestones and from shallow groundwater with its karst features, nonetheless overpumping has caused falls in the level of the aquifer (about 0.6 feet a year at Valdosta), resulting in rapid loss of shallow groundwater, plus surface water that enters and often contaminates the aquifer through those karst features.

Summary: abundant groundwater from Upper Floridan aquifer and shallow groundwater Summary: Fall in level of upper Floridan aquifer is primary cause for....

Sometimes those karst features subside and manifest as sinkholes like the one that ate Snake Nation Road in Lowndes County and others that can develop slow (many years) or fast (weeks or minutes).

Subsidence Problems in south Georgia and north Florida Snake Nation Road sinkhole

There were also many questions, starting with what water do personal wells reach? Also including a brief history of Valdosta well drilling from artesian to hundreds of feet down, and a sinkhole in a garage in Lowndes County, should local governments require sinkhole insurance (including mention of Moody AFB subsidence and Florida citrus growers pumping so much water it causes sinkholes). I also introduced the WWALS board members present: Gretchen Quarterman (Treasurer and videoing), Bret Wagenhorst (Outings), Heather Brasell (Secretary), Dave Hetzel (President), April Huntley (Director), me (Vice President), and Chris Graham (Member); plus a brief summary of WWALS events and outings. Here’s a video playlist:

Continue reading →