Veronica Oakler, the new WWALS Development Director, helped all morning Saturday at Azalea Festival in Valdosta,
![[Development Director, Mayor, Raffle Kayak]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-11--azalea-festival-saturday-pictures/many.jpg)
Development Director, Mayor, Raffle Kayak
Plus Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and family posed with the Vibe Sea Ghost 130 kayak he donated, which WWALS is raffling off. The boat retails for $1,300 and comes with paddle and rudder. The Mayor says he used it only once.
It was a fine day, Continue reading
Update 2023-03-17: Clean Rivers 2023-03-16.
Update 2023-03-17: Tifton Evergreen Drive Sewage Spill 2023-03-11.
It rained this evening, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers, which were very clean before, according to WWALS water quality tests. So I would paddle, fish, or swim this weekend.
Actually, I’ll be at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta Saturday and Sunday.
No new sewage spills were reported in the past week. However, Tifton got around to reporting today a spill from a month ago. Continue reading
Update 2023-03-13: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle in Valdosta Daily Times and WWALS video of what the Mayor and Chairman said.
Everybody had a good time at the Fourth Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. The water level was just right for the shoals to be ripples and the weather was perfect: not cold, not hot, nice and shady.
Phil Hubbard led this one of many WWALS paddle outings. Three people fell in and one paddle got lost, but everybody recovered and nobody went home mad.
![[Mayor, WWALS, Chairman; banners; boaters; outfall; Spook Bridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-04--mayor-paddle-pictures/many.jpg)
Mayor, WWALS, Chairman; banners; boaters; outfall; Spook Bridge
WWALS is proud to bring together Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter and Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson at the site of the county’s recent acquisition of 71 acres from Helen Tapp to add to the 49 acres Parks and Rec already owns to eventually form Troupville Nature Park. Continue reading
Update 2023-03-10: Clean Rivers 2023-03-09.
Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!
That’s what all the recent water quality testing data says. There’s been no rain lately, other than a few scattered showers today, so nothing should have washed into the rivers.
Come on down to Troupville Boat Ramp tomorrow for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle!
No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida since the last of Valdosta’s five February spills totalling almost a million gallons.
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-03-02]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-02--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-03-02
Thanks to Continue reading
Hahira, GA, March 2, 2023 — WWALS is pleased to announce the hiring of Veronica Oaker as Development Director, to help us with fundraising and community outreach. Veronica joined WWALS on March 1st, with a rich background in water advocacy. She has previously worked at Clean Water for North Carolina, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Executive Office of the Florida Governor, and the city of Tallahassee. She has degrees from the University of Florida and the Florida Coastal School of Law. Veronica lives in Madison, Florida. Plan on meeting Veronica at an upcoming outing or event. Or, she might even phone you up to chat.
![[Veronica Oakler with huge bald cypress]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-01--wwals-development-director/Veronica-Oakler-with-huge-bald-cypress.jpg)
Veronica Oakler with huge bald cypress
“I’m excited to come back home to the Suwannee River watershed where my family and I live, work, and play,” said Veronica Oakler. “I have admired the fantastic work that WWALS has accomplished over the past 10 years to raise awareness of water quality issues downstream of polluting sources, especially sewage, pipelines, and trash.”
Continue readingUpdate 2023-03-03: Clean Rivers 2023-03-02.
2023-02-28: Yet another Valdosta sewage spill into Knights Creek 2023-02-22.
Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!
All the WWALS water quality test results for this Thursday were good.
We could use more water quality testers.
If you want to get trained, please use this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide 2023-02-23]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-02-23--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, River, Swim Guide 2023-02-23
Even though Valdosta had yet another major sewage spill Monday, due to inadequate sewer main bypass, it probably did not have much effect on the Alapaha River. When WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall tested at Sasser Landing after Valdosta’s previous, even bigger, spill of Wednesday a week ago, due to sewer main collapse, results were fine at Sasser Landing, downstream of the spill location at Knights Creek, Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River in Echols County, Georgia, and the Alapaha River in Hamilton County, Florida. Continue reading
According to WWALS results for Thursday, happy boating, swimming, and fishing in our rivers this weekend!
Provided you like high water and are prepared to deal with overhanging limbs and getting lost in the floodplain.
I might avoid the Alapaha River at Sasser Landing, due to Valdosta’s Wednesday February 15th probably major spill into Knights Creek.
Valdosta’s other two sewage spills this month, Wednesday, February 8th into Hightower Creek above Sugar Creek and Saturday, February 11th into Cherry Creek probably were too small to have any significant effect on the Withlacoochee River. The WWALS Sunday tests on Cherry Creek and the river appear to have verified that lack of effect for that one, and regular test results after the Hightower Creek one ditto.
No other recent sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida: just Valdosta. Continue reading
Update 2023-02-18: Clean rivers 2023-02-16.
Update 2023-02-13: Cherry Creek water quality sampling after Valdosta sewage spill 2023-02-12.
Thanks to new WWALS tester Cindy Vegas for four more Withlacoochee River site results for Thursday, all clean.
But it rained hard yesterday and continues today, so contamination has probably washed into the rivers: all of the Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee. Maybe not the Santa Fe, but we’ll see.
I wouldn’t swim, fish, or boat in these rivers this weekend.
![[Chart with Rain, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide Map 2023-02-09]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-02-09--more-wq/many.jpg)
Chart with Rain, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide Map 2023-02-09
Look at the rain for yesterday, Friday: 1.67 inches at the Skipper Bridge Gauge, in the same stretch of river she sampled Thursday. Cat Creek comes in between Franklinville and Skipper Bridge, so it is very likely that contamination washed into the river yesterday. Continue reading
Update 2023-02-09: New week river water quality update 2023-02-06.
Happy paddling, fishing, and swimming (if you like cold) this weekend!
Yes, we are paddling tomorrow (Saturday) on the Withlacoochee River from Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park. If you like high water including a quarter mile paddle upstream, join us!
All the WWALS water quality tests were well within the one-time test limit.
The rains promised for yesterday mostly did not happen, so most likely not much contamination washed into the rivers.
The only sewage spill was small and at the top of the Alapaha River watersheds, and it did not appear to affect downstream water quality.
The city of Rochelle, Georgia, at least took less than a week to report its sewage spill. Continue reading
Update 2023-03-03: Clean Rivers 2023-03-02.
Update 2023-03-03: Early takeout for Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle: DeLoach Private Boat Ramp 2023-03-03.
Update 2023-03-01: Boats provided by State Line River Outfitters at Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle 2023-03-04.
Update 2023-02-22: Good water levels for Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle 2023-02-22.
Update 2023-02-16: River Low, Action, and Flood Stages 2023-02-16.
Update 2023-02-15: Paddling in the treetops 2023-02-13 and for real two years ago 2021-02-27 2023-02-13. Don’t worry: the water level should come back down before this year’s paddle date.
Valdosta, Georgia, January 30, 2021 — Join us March 4th for this annual eleven-mile river paddle, past the future site of Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, along the west side of the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, past Valdosta’s clean outfall of its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, with many creeks, oaks, cypresses, pines, fish, turtles, and maybe an alligator, down to Spook Bridge, so scary it has its own movie.
“Come on down to where I used to fish as a child, and with my children!” said Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter. ”This event allows our residents to come out and explore the natural beauties of Lowndes County while enjoying our waterways.”
“I am excited to partner once again with WWALS, plus this time with Lowndes County, to show people our fabulous blackwater rivers, only a few miles from City Hall and VSU,” said Valdosta Mayor Scott James. “After the largest infrastructure project and single largest financial commitment in the history of our City was made toward a completely modern sewer system, we are now exploring the next phase toward beautifying our area waterways. Council and City staff will be addressing the most cost effective way to educate our citizens and eliminate the trash littering our streets that eventually makes into our creeks and rivers. The fight will begin with further education of our friends and neighbors combined with additional focus from City staff and volunteers. I invite everyone to come out and join us for a day of fellowship on the river!”
“Welcome to this one of our many paddles,” said WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman. “We have at least one daytime river paddle a month, in Florida or Georgia, plus an evening Full Moon paddle at Banks Lake, near Lakeland, GA. If you’re ill in any way, please stay home.”
![[Paddlers on the Withlacoochee River, Photo: John S. Quarterman 2022-02-19]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-04--mayor-chairmans-paddle/20220219_131303.jpg)
Paddlers on the Withlacoochee River, Photo: John S. Quarterman 2022-02-19
Come as early as 8 AM, Saturday, March 3, 2023, to Troupville Boat Ramp, Continue reading
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-09--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-02-02--wq/many.jpg)