Tag Archives: Gornto Road

Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26

Update 2024-01-04: Filthy Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2025-01-02.

Update 2024-12-29: Sugar Creek sewer lines, Valdosta, GA 2024-12-29.

Sugar Creek is still filthy from Gornto Road to the Withlacoochee River.

Rain is predicted for this weekend, which will probably make it worse.

The Alapaha River is OK at Sheboggy Boat Ramp near Alapaha, Georgia.

We have no other river results, due to the holidays.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin. The Santa Fe River at Fort White is still too low to paddle.

So if you like cold and wet, this weekend may be good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek and get out before the big rain Sunday.

Please note that the WWALS cleanup at Wainwright Drive on Sugar Creek for this Sunday has been rescheduled because of predicted rain. The new date is Saturday, January 25, 2025.

[Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26 Thunderstorms predicted this weekend]
Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26 Thunderstorms predicted this weekend

Alapaha River

WWALS tester Heather Brasell for Thursday got OK results at the outflow creek from the Alapaha, Georgia, wastewater plant: 267 cfu/100 mL, which is below the 410 one-time-test limit.

She got 233 for the Alapaha River above Sheboggy Boat Ramp, also OK.

Sugar Creek

WWALS tester John S. Quarterman drew four Sugar Creek samples on Thursday.

At Baytree Road, the results were OK, with 200 cfu/100 mL.

At Gornto Road, we got Too Numerous to Count (TNTC). 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 →

Filthy Sugar Creek, dirty Franks Creek, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-12

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.

Update 2024-12-18: Where are the sewage spill signs, Valdosta? 2024-12-17.

WWALS testing showed Sugar Creek got even more contaminated after the rains Wednesday. Valdosta Utilities testiong showed Hightower Creek and One Mile Branch were bad again, and the Withlacoochee River too high in E. coli at GA 133.

WWALS tests showed Franks Creek bad, upstream from the Little River.

WWALS water quality results downstream at Holly Point for Wednesday showed the Withlacoochee River clean there. But upstream contamination from the recent rain had not had time to get there.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. But this E. coli contamination has to be coming from somewhere.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin.

So if you like cold, this weekend seems good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River near GA 133, and possibly the Little River downstream of Franks Creek.

Or join us Sunday evening for the Banks Lake Full Cold Moon Paddle, 2024-12-15 and, also at Banks Lake, raffle drawing for the Skimmer 128 Hurricane kayak.

[Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-12, dirty Franks Creek 2024-12-11, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-11]
Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-12, dirty Franks Creek 2024-12-11, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-11

Sugar Creek

Continue reading →

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

Update 2024-12-13: Filthy Sugar Creek, dirty Franks Creek, bad upstream Withlacoochee River, clean downstream 2024-12-12.

WWALS water quality results for Thursday show the Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers clean upstream, and for Wednesday show the Withlacoochee clean downstream.

But the last results we have for Sugar Creek, from Valdosta Utilities for Tuesday, show Sugar Creek at Gornto Road still way too high in E. coli.

There has been no rain to speak of for a week, so rain is not washing contamination into the creeks.

It is very hard to see what could be causing such Sugar Creek E. coli numbers other than a sewage spill.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia since the small Valdosta spill into Two Mile Branch on Meadowbrook Drive on November 26, which cannot be causing the Sugar Creek contamination at Gornto Road.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin.

So if you like cold, this weekend seems good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek.

[Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-12-05 Sugar Creek still nasty]
Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-12-05 Sugar Creek still nasty

Alapaha River

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. Continue reading →

Nasty Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River; questionable Sheboggy, Alapaha River 2024-11-30

Update 2024-12-04: Horrid Sugar Creek 2024-12-02.

Update 2024-12-02: Valdosta Sewage Spill, Meadowbrook Drive, Two Mile Branch 2024-11-26.

Sugar Creek was even nastier Saturday, near the Withlacoochee River, according to a WWALS test result.

The Alapaha River was questionable at US 82, that same day.

There has been no rain to speak of for a week, so rain is not washing contamination into the creeks.

It is very hard to see what could be causing such Sugar Creek E. coli numbers other than a sewage spill.

[Nasty Sugar Creek near Withlacoochee River Questionable Sheboggy @ US 82, Alapaha River 2024-11-30]
Nasty Sugar Creek near Withlacoochee River Questionable Sheboggy @ US 82, Alapaha River 2024-11-30

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Valdosta does have a sewage spill warning sign up at Sugar Creek below Berta’s Kitchen, and it is needed there. Continue reading →

Bad Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee River 2024-11-26

Update 2024-12-02: Nasty Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River; questionable Sheboggy, Alapaha River 2024-11-30.

I’d avoid Sugar Creek, but the Withlacoochee River otherwise is probably OK, as well as other rivers in the Suwannee River Basin.

So happy fishing, paddling, boating, and, if you like cold, swimming this weekend.

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

[Bad Sugar Creek; Clean Withlacoochee River 2024-11-26 No new known sewage spills; No rain]
Bad Sugar Creek; Clean Withlacoochee River 2024-11-26 No new known sewage spills; No rain

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. And there has been very little rain this week to wash any new contamination into waterways.

But something must have been causing the extremely high E. coli results by Valdosta Utilities Gornto Road on Sugar Creek. The result for Tuesday of 3,755 cfu/100 mL is more than three times the 1,000 alert limit.

Valdosta’s 605 upstream for Tuesday at St. Augustine Road on Hightower Creek was way down from previous results, although still higher than the 410 one-time test limit. So maybe Valdosta Utilities found and fixed the leak. We don’t know, because they have not returned our calls about that, and the City of Valdosta has not made any announcement.

WWALS tester Suzy Hall tested Sugar Creek downstream of Gornto Road last Saturday. Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage spills contained after flash flood 2024-11-11

Update 2024-12-13: Valdosta sewage spill reports to GA-EPD from November 7 through December 3, 2024 2024-12-03.

Update 2024-11-14: DOH-Madison Issues Health Advisory Near Withlacoochee River 2024-11-13

Received yesterday at 5:02 PM, November 11, 2024.

Thanks, Valdosta, for the update, and for mentioning the waterbodies affected for the WWTP and Wainwright Drive.

Regarding repairs, WWALS and many others have been asking for the Wainwright Drive manhole to be fixed for many years.

[Valdosta sewage spills contained 2024-11-11, after flash flood 2024-11-06, 7.2 millions gallons from WWTP, 272,500-276,500 from 6 others]
Valdosta sewage spills contained 2024-11-11, after flash flood 2024-11-06, 7.2 millions gallons from WWTP, 272,500-276,500 from 6 others

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
DATE: Monday, November 11, 2024
CONTACT: Sharah Denton, Community Relations & Marketing Manager
Telephone: (229) 259-3548

City of Valdosta Update: Sanitary Overflow at Withlacoochee WWTP and Wainwright Drive Contained Following Historic Rainfall

UPDATE: 11/11/2024: At this time both the Withlacoochee WWTP and Wainwright Sanitary Overflows have stopped. Withlacoochee WWTP has an estimated overflow of 7.2 million Gallons from its secondary EQ Basin which enters a tributary before entering the Withlacoochee River. Wainwright Drive’s estimated overflow is 250,000 gallons. This overflow entered one mile branch, Sugar Creek and will enter the Withlacoochee River. Notifications have been sent to all required parties. Utilities Central Lines, Plant and Central Maintenance Crews have been dispatched to these locations for damage assessments, repairs and clean up. Environmental Services have actively placed Spill notification signs at access points and have begun required monitoring, sampling and testing of all required locations.

On November 7, 2024, the City of Valdosta and surrounding South Georgia region experienced a significant rain event, Continue reading →

Valdosta reports seven sewage spills, two ongoing 2024-11-08

Update 2024-11-12: Valdosta sewage spills contained after flash flood 2024-11-11.

Update 2024-11-08: Manholes spewing sewage into One Mile Branch at Wainwright Drive, Valdosta, GA 2024-11-08.

Received via email at 11:11 AM this morning: “Although most of the discharge is primarily stormwater, residents are urged to avoid contact with rivers, creeks, streams, or tributaries until further notice.”

[Seven sewage spills, two ongoing, Valdosta, GA, including the Withlacoochee WWTP 2024-11-08]
Seven sewage spills, two ongoing, Valdosta, GA, including the Withlacoochee WWTP 2024-11-08

WWALS has some evidence that there is substantial E. coli in the water. Stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, it looks like adding another catch basin at Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) would have been a good idea after all.

And I’d like to know, why did the City of Valdosta only inform the public about these spills more than a day after they started?

This is not a criticism of the Valdosta Utilities Department or its Director, who I continue to maintain is doing much more than his predecessors.

This is a question for the City Manager, Mayor, and Council.

Valdosta City Schools informed the public quickly about road closures. (Nevermind why Schools and not Public Works or the City’s Public Information Officer.)

Why did the City not inform the public as quickly about sewage getting into the waterways?

Everybody knows there are spills. WWALS already posted pictures and video of the Knob Hill Road spill. But we didn’t know about all of them.

So, tell us, top of the Valdosta City government, why didn’t you inform everyone?

If it’s appropriate today to warn people to stay away from the waterways, why wasn’t that appropriate yesterday?

Will you inform the public next time?

There will be a next time. Sure, this flash flood as a side effect of Hurricane Rafael is unusual. But so was Cat 2 Hurricane Helene. And Hurricane Debby before that. And Hurricane Idalia before that.

None of us can pretend any of that won’t happen again, or worse. The City of Valdosta can keep us all better informed.

City of Valdosta Experiences Significant Rain Event and Flooding, Resulting in Overwhelmed Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Systems

Continue reading →