Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Clean Withlacoochee River 2021-03-25

Update 2021-03-29: Still clean last week, filthy Friday before, Withlacoochee River 2021-03-26.

Clean everywhere, according to five WWALS testers who sampled spots on 80 Withlacoochee River miles Thursday, plus two on the Little River and one on the Alapaha River.

The latest we have from Madison Health is for Tuesday, and from Valdosta is for Friday a week ago, but those were clean, too. There’s been little to no recent rain, so probably nothing bad has washed into the rivers.

Good news for this morning’s paddle from Troupville Boat Ramp to Spook Bridge that Scott James calls the Mayor’s Paddle.

Laissez les bon bateaux rouler! Continue reading →

Pictures: Allen Ramp to SRSP with shoals and springs –Gretchen Quarterman 2019-06-01

Update 2024-07-22: And again: Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01.

Update 2022-11-25: We’re doing it again 2023-02-04

Two photographers, three cameras, one outing: Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park, past Double Window Spring, Morgan Spring Run, Powerline Spring, Corbett Spring, Withlacoochee River, Suwannee River, and Suwanacoochee Spring, plus that chair on the old road bridge buttress, and let’s not forget Battery Shoals, Wipe-Out Shoals, Deer Shoals, Deer Shoals, and Melvin Shoals, where 1/3 of our paddlers (starting with me) fell in. Thanks, Shirley Kokidko for leading us from Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park, June 1, 2019.

[Left: Allen Ramp, Corbett Spring; Right: Melvin Shoals, Suwanacoochee Spring]
Left: Allen Ramp, Corbett Spring; Right: Melvin Shoals, Suwanacoochee Spring

We started at Allen Ramp. All pictures are by Gretchen Quarterman, except where marked jsq, when I took them. Click on any small picture for a bigger one. All the pictures are also on the WWALS website. Continue reading →

Not looking good, Withlacoochee River 2021-02-16

Update 2021-02-21: Clean downstream Friday Withlacoochee River 2021-02-19.

As usual, heavy rains washed contamination into the Withlacoochee River, first detected by Madison Health Tuesday at State Line and FL 6, although oddly Sullivan Launch @ CR 150 was within the one-time sample limit for E. coli.

[Chart, Gauges, Swim Guide map]
Chart, Gauges, Swim Guide map

The good news: with so much rain, the contamination will probably be diluted and washed downstream rapidly.

The bad news: more rain likely coming. And there’s more cattle manure that can wash down Okapilco Creek into the Withlacoochee River. Plus with the Withlacoochee River rising in Valdosta, and more rain falling on Valdosta and Quitman, will we see manhole sewage spills?

We hope to have WWALS results for today ready by tomorrow (Friday), and most likely FDEP will publish Madison Health results, as well. Possibly even Valdosta will publish their Wednesday results by Friday.

We also have a surprising spot check in Drexel Park, and Valdosta’s last week results, which fit with the Madison Health and WWALS results. Continue reading →

WWALS Training for water quality testing, Drexel Park, Onemile Branch, Valdosta, GA 2021-02-13

Most of the testing training last Saturday was online via videos and zoom, but there was a practice segment on Onemile Branch in Drexel Park in Valdosta. WWALS trainer Gretchen Quarterman plated a sample from that creek and found it surprisingly good, unlike what we usually get there.

All pictures by Gretchen Quarterman. Click on any small image to see a larger one.

At the creek

[Onemile Branch]
Onemile Branch

Bobby McKenzie was among those getting recertified, as is required by Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) each year. Continue reading →

Training: Water Quality Testing, All, mostly online, 2021-02-13

Update 2021-02-18: Pictures.

Chemical and Bacteriological water testing training for Georgia Adopt-A-Stream standards by our local trainers.

If you’d like to get trained and do testing for WWALS, please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

Yes, training is difficult in this pandemic situation, but Georgia Adopt-A-Stream has worked out methods, mostly online. With last year’s generous grant from Georgia Power WWALS has purchased enough testing kits so that trainees can have one to use during the training.

[Kit]
Kit

In the form, remember to say where you can test. We need testers pretty much everywhere: Continue reading →

Ichetucknee up and back paddle 2021-01-02

A bit of TV coverage for conserving springs and the WWALS Ichetucknee upstream paddle.

Dylan Lyons, WJCB.com, January 2, 2021, Local environmental organization hits the springs for their first kayaking event of 2021 (follow the link for WCJB’s embedded video),

[WCJB, WWALS]
WCJB, WWALS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB)—WWALS Watershed Coalition is an organization in North-Central Florida and South Georgia dedicated to conservation and education about natural springs. Their goal is to bring focus to problems like excessive water withdrawal. They do that by bringing people out to the springs to see the issues first hand and recognize the beauty of the natural waters.

“More exposure is great because the more people that see the rivers are there and that they are all great like they are and especially the people that get on them. The more they’ll help take care of them,” said John S. Quarterman, the Suwannee Riverkeeper.

Continue reading →

WWALS kayak raffle drawing 2020-12-12

And the winner of the WWALS kayak raffle for an Emotion Stealth 11 Sit-On-Top Kayak with Carlisle Paddle, $600.00 value is…

[Drawing, Reaction, Calling, Winner]
Drawing, Reaction, Calling, Winner

Wenda Gaile Bailey of Nashville, Georgia!

Dylan Phillips of Hahira drew the winning ticket, surprising WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, and WWALS board member Dan Phillips delivered the kayak. Continue reading →

Double your donation: Georgia Day of Giving 2020-12-01

For Georgia Gives 2020 and 2020 Day of Giving, we have a donor who will match our first $1,000 raised.

https://www.gagives.org/story/Wwals-Gagives-2020

Won’t you please help us receive this money. Every little bit helps us work for clean, fishable, swimmable, boatable water.

Georgia Gives Day of Giving is this Tuesday, December 1, 2020, #GivingTuesday, but you don’t have to wait until then.

Please give generously and help us get our $1,000 matching donation.

[Outings, Cleanups, Testing, Advocacy]
Outings, Cleanups, Testing, Advocacy

Continue reading →

Okefenokee discussion in Moniac and mine site drive by 2020-11-06

A small group of people who value the Okefenokee Swamp and the rivers it feeds, the St. Marys River down to the Atlantic and Cumberland Island, and the Suwannee River of song and legend through Fargo and north Florida to the Gulf; this group met in Moniac, Georgia, on November 6, 2020, at Lacy’s Kountry Store. Most of us then visited the proposed mine site, which has quite a bit of equipment on it already.

If you want to help oppose this strip mine far too close to the Swamp, now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has abdicated oversight, you can ask the Georgia government to reject these permits.

[Mine site, discussion]
Mine site, discussion

Georgia River Network Executive Director Rena Ann Peck had just written Continue reading →

Bad Knights Ferry water quality, Withlacoochee River 2020-10-30

Before last weekend all the water quality results from Valdosta for Wednesday and Madison Health for Thursday seemed good. But then it rained late Thursday. I tested Friday, and while US 41, just below Sugar Creek, and US 84 were good on the Withlacoochee River, Knights Ferry Boat Ramp was not good at all.

That contamination must have washed downstream. It may have already passed State Line by Monday, and it may never show up in Valdosta or Madison Health results. We shall see what their results for this week say.

But it was there at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp Friday. This is a good illustration of why even more frequent testing is needed.

Oh, and vote for clean water.

[US 41, NSRR, US 84, KF]
US 41, NSRR, US 84, KF

At Knights Ferry, I counted 39 + 38 + 39 = 116 * 100 / 3 = 3,866 cfu/100 mL E. coli. I went with Gretchen’s slightly lower counts of 40 + 25 + 39 = 104 * 100 / 3 = 3,466, because there was some doubt whether some E. coli colonies were separate or not. Sara Jay got an even lower 2,633. Whichever, it’s clear they’re all well above the 1,000 Georgia Adopt-A-Stream alert limit. So we’re using the 2,633 3,466 middle number, which is plenty bad. Continue reading →