Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west.
You do know the Ockolocoochee River as the Little River, of the Withlacoochee, of the Suwannee.
Here is news from 1889 that also includes the boat that didn’t survive from Troupville to Ellaville, which was apparently not a paddlewheel steamer. Continue reading
WWALS got a paper letter dated May 16, 2023, which says, “The [Department of the Air Force (DAF)] is publishing a Notice of Availablitlity (NOA) in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Comprehensive Airspace Initiative at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The publication of the NOA on 19 May 2023 begins a 30-day waiting period that closes on 18 June 2023.”
![[Proposed Action & Alternatives, Moody AFB EIS]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-05-16--moody-afb-eis/2023-05-16--moody-afb-eis-actions.jpg)
Proposed Action & Alternatives, Moody AFB EIS
Apparently you can still send in comments during that 30-day period, but since there has been a long previous public comment period, it does not seem likely many further changes will be made.
All the documents are available from:
https://moodyafbairspaceeis.com/
They are also available Continue reading
This morning the Lowndes County Commission considered and Tuesday evening will vote on letting a subdivision developer replace a detention pond with a built-on lot and some other detention area somewhere unspecified.
![[Map: Little Viking Road to Grand Bay, ARWT]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-03-21--loco-drainage-grand-bay/map-arwt-little-viking-road-grand-bay.jpg)
Map: Little Viking Road to Grand Bay,
in the WWALS
map of the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
The detention pond is marked by the red ellipse. The most likely drainage from there is where I drew the cyan line. It appears to go into Grand Bay. See below a closeup of the lot and a larger map of how Grand Bay drains into Grand Bay Creek, the Alapahoochee River, the Alapaha River, and then the Suwannee River on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Continue reading
We appear to be the poster child for Recreational redesignation of waterbodies by GA-EPD.
![[Prioritization of Nominated Waterbodies]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-09-13--epd-recreational-redesignation-update/9_13_2021_Triennial_Review_Public_Meeting-0019.jpg)
Prioritization of Nominated Waterbodies; blue marks prioritized waterbodies.
That’s a slide from today’s update meeting.
Not all our blue prioritized waterbodies were redesignated: not Banks Lake nor Grand Bay. But the Withlacoochee and Alapaha segments were redesignated. We may have gotten more river miles redesignated than anywhere else in Georgia.
![[Stretches redesignated Recreational]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-09-01--ga-epd-triennial-recreational/map-redesignated.jpg)
Stretches redesignated Recreational
on the
GA-EPD map.
As you can see, GA-EPD stuck to considering swimming as most important for what they call primary recreation, which is what they require for Recreational redesignation. Thanks to all of you who sent in swimming pictures and locations. You can keep sending those in, especially for the Suwannee River. Thanks to those cities and counties and Chambers of Commerce that sent in letters of support. Continue reading
In addition to the Alapaha and Withlacoochee River segments GA-EPD has accepted to be redesignated Recreational, according to today’s update letter several others still could be considered with certain additional information, and still more can be nominated. This would be for the next Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards, which starts next year, 2022.
Read the whole thing here: PDF.
Excerpts related to the Suwannee River Basin are below. I’ve added a few comments in [square brackets].
The following waterbody segments are being proposed for designated use change to recreation for the 2019 Triennial Review. EPD has received complete nomination packages for each of these waterbody segments, including thorough documentation of year-round primary contact recreation throughout the length of the segment, current and planned investment data, and letters of support from community and stakeholders. A map of these waterbody segments can be found at
https://arcg.is/1i0ezv
Stretches redesignated Recreational on the GA-EPD map.
- Alapaha River – Cherry Creek to Stateline
- Alapaha River – Willacoochee River to Dampier Branch
[Those two Alapaha River stretches omit Sheboggy Boat Ramp downstream from Alapaha, and Lakeland Boat Ramp, Pafford’s Landing, and Rowetown Church Landing downstream from Lakeland.]- Withlacoochee River – Tiger Creek to State Line
[Plus Reed Bingham State Park Lake on the Little River was already Recreational, even though it does not appear on the above GA-EPD map. The rest of the Little River we can resubmit.]
Incomplete nomination packages were received for the following waterbodies. EPD will continue to solicit information from the nominators to complete these packages. If EPD receives complete nomination packages, EPD will review the complete packages and consider changing the designated use of these waterbodies to recreation as part of the 2022 Triennial Review:
Missing Documentation of year-round primary contact recreation:
Continue reading
Update 2021-09-01: More Recreational redesignation of waterbodies still possible –GA-EPD 2021-09-01.
GA-EPD picked a subset of the river stretches they previously said they would consider for Recreational designation: in the Georgia Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards: parts of the Alapaha River, and a smaller part of the Withlacoochee River.
There’s an online Update Meeting next month.
So that’s the Alapaha River from the Willacoochee River to Dampier Branch, and from Cherry Creek to the state line. I guess you can still paddle from Willacoochee Landing @ GA 135 to Berrien Beach Boat Ramp @ GA 168 without getting into any non-Recreational stretches. But Lakeland Boat Ramp and Pafford’s and Burnt Church Landings are right out. But you can paddle from Hotchkiss Road Landing to Naylor Boat Ramp, Mayday Landing, Statenville Boat Ramp, and on to Florida.
Redesignated Recreational is the Withlacoochee River from Tiger Creek (at Spook Bridge, just below US 84) to the state line. So Knights Creek, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps can all be Recreational, even though they’re all downstream of Okapilco Creek and all those cattle in Brooks County, but Langdale Park Boat Ramp and Troupville Boat Ramp are not designated Recreational, despite the Valdosta Mayor’s letter of support.
However, the big win is that anything at all got redesignated. In previous cycles, GA-EPD declined to consider such a thing. And we can reapply next time.
Completely missing from this list are: Continue reading
Update 2021-06-21: The real deadline is June 30, 2021.
Calling for pictures, personal experience, or other evidence of swimming or diving in lakes and rivers in the Suwannee River Basin, and evidence of investments in recreation.
![[Candidate Recreational waterways, Georgia, legend, Suwannee River Basin]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-12--ga-epd-designated-use-update/many.jpg)
Candidate Recreational waterways, Georgia, legend, Suwannee River Basin
For a waterway to be redesignated Recreational instead of Fishing, as we requested back in 2019, GA-EPD requires evidence of “Primary Contact Recreation,” which it says is “full immersion contact with water where there is significant risk of ingestion that includes, but is not limited to, swimming, diving, white water boating (class 3+), tubing, water skiing, and surfing.”
Recreational designation would mean tighter restrictions on contamination limits. That should be good for fish, fishing, people who swim, fish, and boat, and for eco-tourism.
Could everyone who has pictures, news reports, or other solid evidence of such activities in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia please send them in. That’s in the Okefenokee Swamp, Suwannee River, Alapaha River, Banks Lake, Grand Bay, Withlacoochee River, or Little River.
Please use this form:
https://forms.gle/DipPgU2TP5atc2Rf9
If you have difficulties with that, please email them to wwalswatershed@gmail.com.
Also, please send any evidence of investments in recreation along any of these waterways, with dollar amounts, if you have them.
No rush. We thought we had until the end of June, but recently GA-EPD truncated the deadline to May 28th. That’s Friday of this week. GA-EPD has indicated that the end-of-week deadline may be flexible, but please send what you’ve got as fast as you can.
They also applied a bunch of criteria, some of which we were previously unaware of, and tossed out many stretches of the rivers. We asked for an appeal process, but they have not provided one. So feel free to send in pictures and other evidence about all stretches, and we’ll see what we can do with them.
The good news is that still on the candidate list for Recreational redesignation is all of the Okefenokee Swamp, the Suwannee River in Georgia, Banks Lake, and Grand Bay Creek and Trail within the Grand Bay WMA. Also included is most of the Alapaha River within the Alapaha River Water Trail, but not upstream from the Willacoochee River, and not for ten miles downstream from Lakeland.
But almost all of the Withlacoochee River is eliminated, except for Tiger Creek (at Spook Bridge) to the state line, and all of the Little River is eliminated. Also gone is Lake Irma, because Continue reading
WWALS has printed 10,000 z-fold brochures for each of two water trails, through a generous grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR). Plus Georgia Beer Company is a new sponsor, adding to a long list of cities, counties, tourist councils, and development authorities that have assisted with money or letters or resolutions of support. The images here are updated to what we printed. Contact us to get printed copies of these brochures: they’re free to individuals or to groups that will distribute them to the public.
![[WLRWT front and back, ARWT mapside]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-10-17--wt-brochure-proofs/many.jpg)
WLRWT front and back, ARWT mapside
This is the third edition of the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) brochure, and the first-ever Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT) brochure.
You can help defray the cash match for the grant, online, or contact us. Or maybe you’d like to contribute to our water trail signs.
WWALS is currently updating all our online water trail maps and web pages.
You can help:
https://forms.gle/qXkPr7eCK51P4X4u7
There are also many other ways you can participate in the activities and advocacy of WWALS:
https://wwals.net/donations/
See: https://wwals.net/maps/alapaha-water-trail/
The two previous ARWT brochure editions, 10,000 copies each, lasted about four years. This one has Continue reading
Wes James brought up a good point last night on the radio. Songwriters, you do not have to sing or play your song, although you do have to be on stage doing something related to the song. So yes, you can get your favorite musicians to sing and play for you, but you do have to be present to win.
Remember to send in your song:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-21–songwriting Continue reading
How can you participate with Suwannee Riverkeeper in what WWALS does, and how can you become a member, asked Wes James on the radio last night. So I talked about cleanups, trash traps, the real trash problem, and how you can paddle on the multiple WWALS monthly outings and cleanups, as well as how to become a WWALS member. There’s more below on WWALS outings and advocacy, and how you can help.
Here’s a WWALS video playlist:
Videos: Outings, cleanups, advocacy, join WWALS, Wes James, WAAC 92.9 FM 2021-04-20
Videos by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS).
We do outings every month, usually more than one, including a full moon paddle at Banks Lake just west of Lakeland, Georgia, to watch the sun set and the moon rise, often with bats. That’s a good introductory paddle on a flat lake with free boat rental. Next one is 7:15 PM, Monday, April 26, 2021
Upcoming outings are listed online: Continue reading
![[Withlacoochee River labeled Suwanee R. in 1823 Irwin and 1834 Lowndes County maps; current WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1889-01-29--troupville/many.jpg)
![[Header, Suwannee River Basin]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-11--ga-epd-rule-change/many.jpg)