Update 2025-10-23:
Sewer System Repairs and Water Quality Testing by Valdosta Utilities 2025-10-21.
Update 2025-09-03:
Better Withlacoochee River, Worse Sugar Creek 2025-09-01.
Congratulations to Valdosta Utilities for taking action on a chronic sewage spill location!
Scotti Jay reported Sunday that he had noticed that morning an excavator at the Wainwright Drive manhole on One Mile Branch, where spills continue into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River.
Scotti wrote,
“Upon a closer look, the old manhole is gone. A new, updated and uplifted manhole now exists. I will wait to celebrate after the next storm. Strangely, the pine tree, whose roots were a problem in the old manhole, is also still there. So, let’s hope it holds water.”
Monday, Sara Jay sent a picture, attributed as a “screenshot from the Ring doorbell camera online community.”
If anybody know a more precise source, please let us know. Continue reading ![[New manhole, Wainwright Drive, One Mile Branch, 2025-08-31]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-31--wainwright-drive-new-manhole/many.jpg)
New manhole, Wainwright Drive, One Mile Branch, 2025-08-31
Tag Archives: Georgia Environmental Protection Division
Stopped: Overflow from Valdosta Withlacoochee Wastewater Treament Plant 2025-08-27
Update 2025-08-27: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK One Mile Branch, Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-08-26.
We received this update from Valdosta this morning at 11:19 AM:
Withlacoochee WPCP Overflow Stopped as of August 27
Update as of August 27, 2025, 9:30 a.m. The overflow at the Withlacoochee WPCP has stopped. It is estimated that approximately 1,500,000 gallons of stormwater diluted wastewater to the wetland adjacent to the plant. All required agencies have been notified.
![[Stopped: Overflow from Valdosta Withlacoochee Wastewater Treament Plant, Monday, August 27, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-27--wwtp-overflow-stopped/fbmany.jpg)
Stopped: Overflow from Valdosta Withlacoochee Wastewater Treament Plant, Monday, August 27, 2025
That’s optimistic saying that a 1.5 million gallon spill is contained in the adjacent wetlands.
I don’t see any water quality test results posted on Valdosta’s website yet, even though after each of the two weekend major spills Valdosta is required by their wastewater permit to test daily upstream and down each day for a week, then weekly for four weeks.
Maybe we’ll see some results soon from Madison Health downstream in Florida.
Meanwhile, neither of these Valdosta major spills have yet appeared in the
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.
https://wwals.net/issues/vww/ga-spills/
Update 2025-08-27: Well, they were in there Monday, but still without total gallons. See: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK One Mile Branch, Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-08-26.
The rest of today’s Valdosta PR text Continue reading
WTXL on Wainwright Drive One Mile Branch sewage spill 2025-08-05
Update 2025-08-08: Clean Alapaha River 2025-08-03, Dirty Creeks 2025-08-06, Withlacoochee River Clean downstream 2025-08-07.
I’ve added some information to Malia’s report, so you’ll know what she was looking at.
Malia Thomas, WTXL, 2025-08-05, Valdosta sewage spill renews concern after second overflow hits creek in under a month: Another sewage spill near Sugar Creek sparks urgency as Valdosta faces decades-old infrastructure strain
VALDOSTA, GA. (WTXL) — Another sewer spill in Valdosta—this time small, but still stirring concern.
Continue reading
- Monday’s spill released up to 1,000 gallons into Sugar Creek [actually, into One Mile Branch, which flows to Sugar Creek, then the Withlacoochee River to the Suwannee -jsq], which connects to the Suwannee River system.
- Since April 2024, over 409,000 gallons of raw sewage have spilled from the same Wainwright Dr. location.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors and the city’s plan of action.
![[Wainwright Drive sewage spill on WTXL TV 2025-08-05, into One Mile Branch, at site of many previous spills]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-08-05--wainwright-wtxl/fbmany.jpg)
Cancelled: Florida Rivers Task Force meeting with Valdosta City Council 2025-07-21
Update 2025-08-01: Rescheduled: Florida River Task Force and City of Valdosta City Council Joint Workshop 2025-08-14.
Received this afternoon.
![[Cancelled: Florida Rivers, Task Force meeting, with Valdosta City Council, 2025-07-21]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-21--task-force-meeting-cancelled/many.jpg)
Cancelled: Florida Rivers, Task Force meeting, with Valdosta City Council, 2025-07-21
River Task Force Members, Interested Persons and News Media,
JOINT WORKSHOP CANCELLATION NOTICE
Please be advised that the City of Valdosta City Manager informed us today that City of Valdosta City Council members and city officials will be attending a change of command ceremony at Moody Air Force Base on July 30, 2025.
Therefore, the Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force and City of Valdosta City Council Joint Workshop at the City of Valdosta City Hall Annex, 300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia scheduled for July 30, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. has been CANCELLED.
The Joint Workshop will be rescheduled for a later date. Continue reading
Cancelled! Florida River Task Force meeting with Valdosta City Council 2025-07-30
Update 2025-07-21: https://wwals.net/?p=68012
Update 2025-07-18: Filthy Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River dirty upstream but clean downstream, clean Alapaha River 2025-07-17.
Back in 2020, this Task Force of the dozen downstream Florida counties was instrumental in getting a Consent Order on Valdosta by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
The Task Force was dormant for a while, but recent Valdosta sewage spills have caused it to be reactivated. Some of its members already met privately with several Valdosta City officials a month or more ago. Now a long-awaited public meeting has been announced.
Also, we finally have a list of the members of the Task Force.
Y’all come.
![[Florida River Task Force and Valdosta City Council, Valdosta City Hall Annex, Wednesday, July 30, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-30--task-force/fbmany.jpg)
The email notice received this morning says: Continue reading
Valdosta Sugar Creek sewage spill update 2025-07-17
Update 2025-07-18: Florida River Task Force meeting with Valdosta City Council 2025-07-30
Test results continue to show high Fecal coliform and E. coli in Sugar Creek after the weekend’s sewage spill, even though the bypass pump has been running normally since Sunday. It can take many days for sewage to wash downstream, especially without much rain.
The spill was too small to have much effect on the Withlacoochee River downstream, and probably none on the Suwannee River.
![[Update: Valdosta Sugar Creek Sewage Spill Testing 2025-07-16, Still high, even upstream at Baytree Road]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-17--valdosta-sugar-creek-update/fbmany.jpg)
This is the bypass pump yesterday. Continue reading
Location of Sugar Creek Major Spill 2025-07-14
Update 2025-07-17: Update: Valdosta Sugar Creek Sewage Spill Testing 2025-07-17
Here is the location of the Valdosta Sugar Creek sewage spill 2025-07-12 and what Valdosta has to say about it, including the city’s press release of this morning. Plus a few suggestions from WWALS.
Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes requests that next time anybody smells or sees something, please go ahead and call Valdosta Utilities so Utilities can go look right then.
- For Valdosta water or sewer problems,
- please call Valdosta Utilities at 229-259-3592
- or for after hours emergencies at 229-434-4132.
Please also report it to WWALS so we can follow up, as well.
https://wwals.net/report/
Utilties Director Barnes also told me that they had already started the required daily sampling after a major spill. Even though the city is reporting this as less than 10,000 gallons, nonetheless it affected a waterway (Sugar Creek), so he’s calling it major.
This spill has not yet shown up on the daily GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.
![[Location of Sugar Creek Major Spill, West of RR trestle, by Sherwood Drive, North of bypass pump 2025-07-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-14--sugar-creek-bypass/fbmany.jpg)
This is what failed: the bypass pump, due to overheating.
It’s very easy to tell when it is running, because it makes a loud noise. Evidently, nobody regularly checks on it.
I have suggested a remote sensor to at least show when the pump is running. Perhaps a remote thermometer, as well. Jason Barnes said he was already looking into remote sensors. Continue reading
Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-07-02
We have good E. coli results on the Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers and Franks Creek for this week.
We don’t know about Sugar Creek; nobody tested that this week.
No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida. or Georgia.
Rain or thunderstorms are likely for the next ten days.
Since these recent tests were after previous rains, apparently we’re past first flush. That means whatever was in the woods has washed out now, so more rain may not cause much contamination.
So as near as we can tell, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend, if you can beat the rain!
![[Clean Alapaha River 2025-06-29, Withlacoochee River and Franks Creek 2025-07-02]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-02--wq/many.jpg)
Clean Alapaha River 2025-06-29, Withlacoochee River and Franks Creek 2025-07-02
Maybe join WWALS tomorrow for
Turner Bridge to Cone Bridge Paddle, Suwannee River 2025-07-05.
https://wwals.net/?p=67557
Alapaha River
Continue readingClean Withlacoochee River 2025-06-26
Update 2025-07-04: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-07-02.
WWALS and Valdosta Utilities got good E. coli results on the Withlacoochee River.
We don’t know about Sugar Creek; nobody tested that this week.
No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida. There was one tiny spill near Adel, Georgia, reported to be completely contained.
Rain or thunderstorms are likely for the next ten days.
Since these recent tests were after previous rains, apparently we’re past first flush. That means whatever was in the woods has washed out now, so more rain may not cause much contamination.
So as near as we can tell, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend, if you can beat the rain!
![[Clean Withlacoochee River in Georgia and Florida, 2025-06-26; Small spill near Adel, GA, 2025-06-20, Morrison Creek, Little River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-06-26--wq/many.jpg)
Maybe by a week from Saturday there will be no rain for
Turner Bridge to Cone Bridge Paddle, Suwannee River, 2025-07-05.
https://wwals.net/?p=67557
Withlacoochee River
Continue readingWillacoochee River overflow Satilla Road variance 2025-07-11
The deadline to comment on
GA-EPD environmental variance request BV-077-25-01
is July 11, 2025. (PDF)
https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/GADNR/2025/06/11/file_attachments/3290440/BV-077-25-01%20Irwin%20County%20PUBLIC%20NOTICE.pdf
It’s for replacing a bridge at County Road (CR) 181/Satilla Road at Willacoochee River Overflow (GPS Coordinates:_31.563505, -83.170928).
![[Willacoochee River overflow, Satilla Road variance, BV-077-25-01, Irwin County 2025-06-12]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-07-11--willacoochee-river-overflow-satilla-road-variance/fbmany.jpg)
Willacoochee River overflow, Satilla Road variance, BV-077-25-01, Irwin County 2025-06-12
That’s six miles east of Ocilla, in Irwin County, Georgia. Continue reading