Here is the agenda, as well as the zoom parameters, for the WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, WWALS President Sara Jay presiding, January 8, 2023. The public is invited.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89308028204?pwd=VmwyMzVTMVR6WGJxbUFUSlFXWFRWQT09
One tap mobile: +13092053325,,89308028204#,,,,*392346#
We will be discussing Continue reading
Update 2023-01-13: Clean Rivers 2023-01-12.
WWALS found very bad results in Friday samples of upstream creeks and river sites.
Worse than the Thursday river test results.
Except Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River is back well within limits.
If I were you, I would still avoid the Withlacoochee River for a few days, at least as far down as the Little River Confluence.
Beaverdam Creek showed too high E. coli at Main Street (US 129), but green again at Park Street. What’s between Ramblinwood Road and Main Street to produce that contamination?
Beatty Branch showed mysteriously too high at Continue reading
WWALS President Sara Jay will preside over the WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting. The public is invited.
We will be discussing the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle, the BIG Little River Paddle Event, and other outings and cleanups: see https://wwals.net/outings. As well as trash, water quality testing, opposition to mines, water withdrawals, coal ash, pellet plants, and LNG export, as well as promotion of water trails and solar power: see https://wwals.net/issues/ And of course finances.
That’s for the entire 10,000 square mile Suwannee River Basin, in Georgia and Florida, including the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Little times two, New times two, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers, and all their creeks, springs, sinks, ponds, and swamps, such as Grand Bay, Banks Lake and the Okefenokee Swamp.
When: 6 PM to 8 PM, Sunday, January 8, 2023
Where: Online via zoom, so you don’t even have to go anywhere. The zoom parameters will follow, as will an agenda.
Kimberly Tanner wrote three days ago, “Looks like there are two new cans; one close to parking and one on the beach. Great news!”
![[Trash cans at entrance to and on Naylor Beach --Kimberly Tanner 2022-12-29]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-29--naylor-beach/many.jpg)
Trash cans at entrance to and on Naylor Beach –Kimberly Tanner 2022-12-29
This is speedy action by Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA). And of course these two new cans at Naylor Beach are in addition to the one at the nearby Naylor Boat Ramp. Continue reading
Update 2023-01-01 Two new VLPRA trash cans for Naylor Beach on the Alapaha River 2022-12-29.
Suzy Hall checked on the trash can at Naylor Beach on the Alapaha River at US 84 yesterday. It’s not there.
![[2018, 2020, and 2022: Naylor Beach]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-24--naylor-beach/many.jpg)
2018, 2020, and 2022: Naylor Beach
It was put there by Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) in 2018, after WWALS asked for it.
The last record we have of that Naylor Beach trash can was in January 2020.
We’re asking VLPRA again: could we have a trash can at Naylor Beach? Continue reading
Update 2022-12-31: Clean rivers 2022-12-29.
All the recent WWALS test results are quite clean, for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers. There was some rain Tuesday, but not enough on the drought-dry ground to wash much E. coli into the rivers, not even from Cat Creek, Sugar Creek, or Okapilco Creek.
The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday a week ago, but they are bad for US 41 and GA 133. There’s not enough water to be boating there anyway, and it’s too cold for fishing or swimming.
So if you do want to brave the freezing weather and paddle, I recommend below the Little River Confluence on the Withlacoochee River, or the Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Suwannee, Santa Fe, or Ichetucknee Rivers. Continue reading
Update 2023-03-31: Yet Another Cleanup Knights Ferry to Nankin, Withlacoochee River 2023-04-08.
Update 2023-01-30: Videos: Valdosta trash on the Withlacoochee River 2022-12-17.
Eight WWALS volunteers braved a cold winter’s day on another WWALS Withlacoochee River Cleanup from Knights Ferry to Nankin Boat Ramps, because we couldn’t get it all two weeks before.
After a big on-land cleanup and a floating trash jam, we also saw the wood piers of old Knights Ferry Bridge, Floating Marsh Pennywort, invasive Flowering Cleome houtteana, many private landings, Redland Creek, many rocks, many interesting trees, and Nankin Shoals.
Thanks to Russell Allen McBride for organizing, and volunteers Suzy Hall, Will Hart, Amy Myers, Gretchen Quarterman Scott, and Calvin.
![[Composite, Another KF to Nankin Cleanup, 2022-12-17]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-17--kf-nankin-cleanup-pictures/many.jpg)
Composite, Another KF to Nankin Cleanup, 2022-12-17
Where did this styrofoam, plastic bottles, and cans come from? Almost certainly the City of Valdosta. See Valdosta Mayor Scott James on trash at Hightower Creek 2022-12-15.
There’s at least that much more trash on the river that we’ll have to come back to get.
At least Valdosta has started to stop trash from getting into the river.
They have much more to do:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash
Here’s a summary in a WWALS video playlist by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman:
Continue readingQuite a few happy boaters, on a balmy weekday at an early start time, saw the sun set and the moon already rising, on the Banks Lake Full Cold Moon Paddle.
Thanks to Shirley Kokidko for leading it.
![[Banners, Kayak Raffle Winner, Sunset, Moonrise, Banks Lake 2022-12-07]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-07--banks-lake-full-cold-moon-pictures/many.jpg)
Banners, Kayak Raffle Winner, Sunset, Moonrise, Banks Lake 2022-12-07
The next one is Friday, January 6, 2023.
Please make your boat reservations in advance. If we know more boats are wanted than the limited number at Banks Lake Outdoors, we can bring more, but not if we don’t know.
And please get there before the safety lecture. If you show up after that, we don’t like to, but we will turn you away. Gather time and paddle time are posted for each paddle outing. The safety lecture is before we paddle. Continue reading
This only ever happened once before: the WWALS kayak raffle winner was standing there at the drawing.
WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman had already transcribed the online tickets onto paper tickets like all the others. Continue reading
Update 2022-12-18:Pretty clean rivers 2022-12-16.
As clean as we’ve ever seen, except for that lingering too-high E. coli for GA 133 on Monday from Valdosta.
All the more recent WWALS tests on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers have been very clean.
No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. No rain is predicted for many days.
So happy boating this weekend, except at GA 133, and there’s not enough water there anyway, and you really shouldn’t be putting in there at any time.
So clean that for the first time ever we observed the Withlacoochee cleaner than the Alapaha. But the Alapaha River still tested very clean. Continue reading
![[Three-page agenda 2023-01-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-01-08--wwals-board-agenda/many.jpg)
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-01-06--wq/many.jpg)
![[Square WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper logos]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/logo/square-wwals-suwrk-logos.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-22--wq/many.jpg)
![[Kayak Raffle Drawing]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-07--banks-lake-full-cold-moon-pictures/raffle.jpg)
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-12-08--wq/many.jpg)