Tag Archives: Hat Creek

Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26

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Update 2025-03-07: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-03-06.

After GA-EPD forgot to list sewage spill locations or causes for several days, we can finally see where and why Ashburn had its late-January and mid-February spills into Hat Creek, which runs to the Alapaha River.

Plus an amusing update on Pinehurst, which is outside the Suwannee River Basin.

[Ashburn spill locations and causes, in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26]
Ashburn spill locations and causes

The locations are listed as different: “Rockhouse Rd. Lift Station” for the 2025-01-31 spill and “Rockhouse Rd and Sylvia Dr.” for the 2025-02-14 spill. But from time to time GA-EPD lists the latitude and longitude of spills, and these two have the same latlong: 31.691673, -83.632582.

That’s at this manhole at the corner of Rockhouse Road and Silvia Drive: Continue reading →

Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16, Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19

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Update 2025-02-28: Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27.

We do not have any updates on Sugar Creek, but the recent rains probably washed more contamination into it.

Valdosta Utilities got too high E. coli downstream on the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 for Wednesday. But OK results farther down at US 84.

Upstream on the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton, WWALS got too high for Monday.

Ashburn had yet another small sewage spill Friday a week ago, at the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive, into Hat Creek, which goes to the Alapaha River.

“On Sunday, February 16, 2025 at approximately 6 PM,” Chemours spilled approximately 230,000 gallons of process water from its Trail Ridge South Mine east of Starke, Florida, upstream of the Santa Fe River. Stay tuned for a separate report.

The Withlacoochee River is in Action Stage at and above Valdosta and at Pinetta.

If you’ve got a power boat and stay below the Little River Confluence, the volume of rainwater probably makes the Withlacoochee River relatively clean. I wouldn’t recommend kayaks or canoes unless there’s more than one of you and you really know what you’re doing.

Paddling or fishing or swimming (if you like cold) would be better on other rivers this weekend. At least the weather prediction is sunny and warmer than it has been recently.

[Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16]
Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16

Little River

WWALS Internet and Tester Samantha Carr sampled the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton on Monday. We’re going with Suzy Hall’s interpretation of Samantha’s slides: 8+7+13 * 100 / 3 = 933 cfu/100 mL. That’s higher than the 410 one-time test limit. Continue reading →

Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13

Update 2025-02-16: Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14.

Sugar Creek wasn’t as horrible this week as last, but it still tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road and downstream for Wednesday.

That was before an inch or two of rain Thursday, which most likely washed more contamination into Sugar Creek and on into the Withlacoochee River.

[Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains]
Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains

But Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

One new sewage spill was reported in the last week in Georgia, by Ashburn, into Hat Creek upstream on the Alapaha River. See other post:
https://wwals.net/?p=66982

None were reported in Florida.

Saturday is supposed to be partly sunny, with thunderstorms Sunday.

So other than near Sugar Creek, happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend, before the rain!

We did cancel the chainsaw cleanup tomorrow, due to high water level and Sugar Creek contamination.

But there’s another one on Sunday, February 23:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading →

Five days of changes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-14

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

Update 2025-02-14: Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13.

This is the busiest week I can remember in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, yet only one new minor spill was reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia.

No new sewage spills were reported this week in the Basin in Florida.

[GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14]
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14

The Pinehurst spill of February 6 was newly reported on February 12, but for reasons given below is not our concern. It was updated the next day with Overflow Locaion of “Spill was located along highway 49 outside the city of Pinehurst. The area affected was a thickly vegetated and wooded area with no nearby homes or businesses.” Today, February 14, it was updated again to remove that Overflow Location, which is unusual.

As the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) apparently realized today, Pinehurst is not in the Suwannee River Basin. I could figure out whether it’s in the Flint or Altamaha River Basins, but for three reasons (minor spill, “Did not enter waters of the State”, and not in the Suwannee River Basin), it’s not my problem. It still showed up in the WWALS processing today because we pick up everything in Dooly County since part of that county is in the Suwannee River Basin and we don’t want to miss anything.

The Valdosta January 14 Jackson Street spill was first reported on January 17. Today’s report only adds the cause: “Debris obstruction from trash from local corrections facility.” I’m not sure what corrections facility that would be, but it was still a tiny spill that did not get into Browns Canal or down into Sugar Creek or the Withlacoochee River.

So the winner is Ashburn, with Continue reading →

Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024 in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-10-14

Ashburn still needs to get a grip on its sewage spills. More timely reporting would also be good. One of them showed up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report a month late, and the other a week after the spill.

I missed seeing these Ashburn spills when they first appeared, due to a glitch in network access for the WWALS software that retrieves and interprets these reports daily.

[Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024, in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-11-13]
Ashburn sewage spills, October and November 2024

It’s not clear why it says “Wet weather” for October 14, since the only rain records I can find for Ashburn, Georgia, say it was clear and sunny that day and the day before. There was a fatal car wreck on I-75 in Ashburn on October 14, but the news report says nothing about wet weather.

Of course, Ashburn could have had its own flash flood event.

The November 7 Ashburn spill coincides with the Valdosta flash flood, and some of that rain did extend farther north. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River after Hurricane Helene, but much flooding and storm damage 2024-10-02

Update 2024-10-06: Clean Withlacoochee River, but some stretches flooding, and more rains coming 2024-10-04.

Valdosta’s Wednesday water quality samples show the Withlacoochee River clean after Hurricane Helene. Valdosta’s Wednesday a week ago samples corroborate clean before Helene, matching WWALS testing.

There are no new WWALS test results, because none of us have had electricity, which is needed to incubate the samples at 95 F for 24 hours. Two WWALS testers have power back, so maybe some new results soon.

The weather report is sunny for the next week, although you never know what might blow in off the Gulf or the Atlantic.

Many national, state, and local parks are closed, especially on rivers.
https://wwals.net/?p=65987

Upstream rainfall now running downstream is causing widespread river flooding. See separate report on the Alapaha River.
https://wwals.net/?p=65990

If you can, please stay home until the power and road situations are better.

Afterwards, there will be plenty of more opportunities for pleasant paddles and chainsaw cleanups. Continue reading →

Hurricane Helene Sewage Spills 2024-09-27

Update 2024-10-06: Corrected location of Valdosta Ponderosa Lift Station (1001 Ponderosa Drive).

Update 2024-10-04: Clean Withlacoochee River after Hurricane Helene, but much flooding and storm damage 2024-10-02.

Tifton spilled 1.375 million gallons of raw sewage during Hurricane Helene, 950,000 into a creek that goes to the Little River, and the rest into creeks that go to the New River above the Withlacoochee River.

Sycamore spilled 350 gallons above Hat Creek, above the Alapaha River.

According to Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes, Valdosta spilled 9,000 gallons due to a tree falling on a lift station, above Knights Creek, which goes to Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River. He said he has reported it to GA-EPD. Perhaps it will appear Monday in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.

[Tifton spilled 1.375,000 gallons, Sycamore 350, during Hurricane Helene. Valdosta spilled 9,000 gallons, tree on lift station.]
Tifton spilled 1.375,000 gallons, Sycamore 350, during Hurricane Helene. Valdosta spilled 9,000 gallons, tree on lift station.

I would avoid the directly-affected creeks. But these are all so far upstream of their rivers that the rivers were probably not much affected.

But you might check with Reed-Bingham State Park for their latest lake contamina tion report before swimming there. Continue reading →

Probably clean rivers before Hurricane Helene, but please stay home 2024-09-25

Update 2024-10-04: Hurricane Helene Sewage Spills 2024-09-27.

Please stay home and let emergency responders, electric utilities, and road crews work.

The rivers were probably clean before Hurricane Helene. And even that unprecedented storm may not have caused many sewage spills, since rainfall many places was not as much as in previous hurricanes. But wind was extreme, and damage is widespread.

I called Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes this morning and asked if he knew of any spills. “No, we’re good,” he said. Since rain on Valdosta was less than in previous hurricanes, that makes sense.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. But once again, Ashburn, Georgia, reported late, showing up in the September 23 GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reportbelow.

With the hurricane rains, some contamination may have washed into the rivers. And there may have been sewage spills elsewhere not yet reported.

The weather prediction is sunny for the next week.

The rivers are rising. The Withlacoochee River at Skipper Bridge Road above Valdosta is already in Minor Flood, and that water is heading downstream.

Meanwhile, please stay home until the power and road situations are better.

Afterwards, there will be plenty of more opportunities for pleasant paddles and chainsaw cleanups.

[Please stay home after Hurricane Helene 2024-09-26 Rivers may be clean, but let utilities work.]
Please stay home after Hurricane Helene 2024-09-26 Rivers may be clean, but let utilities work.

Continue reading →

Three more Ashburn sewage spills reported more than a week late 2024-07-20

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

Update 2024-08-02: Partly clean Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01.

One of Ashburn’s spills was huge: 250,000 gallons (10,000 is a major spill). All three late-reported spills were into Hat Creek into the Alapaha River.

[Ashburn spills 290,000 gallons 2024-07-20, raw sewage into Hat Creek]
Ashburn spills 290,000 gallons 2024-07-20, raw sewage into Hat Creek,
reported in the July 31, 2024, GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report

That increases Ashburn’s running (pun intended) total to 2,096,500 gallons of raw sewage over the past 13 months: July 2023 through July 2024. Continue reading →

Downstream dozen Florida counties task force reactivated after raw sewage spills across Georgia state line –WUFT 2024-07-23

Update 2024-08-02: Three more Ashburn sewage spills reported more than a week late 2024-07-20.

Update 2024-07-26: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-07-25.

Thanks to the reporter for doing this story, especially for including the material about the stigma of sewage spills, which affects even Suwannee Basin rivers that are not even downstream from Valdosta, and about the economic damage of such stigma.

Please note that while Valdosta is the biggest sewage spill problem, because it is the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, it is far from the only city that spills sewage, and not all E. coli contamination comes from sewage; see other sources.

As noted in the story, Valdosta is spending millions of dollars to fix its sewage problems. Nobody will be happier when there are no more sewage spills than Valdosta staff and elected officials, many of whom are new since most of the notorious sewage spills happened. But that day is still some time in the future.

[Downstream dozen Florida counties task force reactivated after raw sewage spills across Georgia state line --WUFT 2024-07-23]
Downstream dozen Florida counties task force reactivated after raw sewage spills across Georgia state line –WUFT 2024-07-23

I’ve noted a few errata below, plus I’ve added some links and some more images.

Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp, WUFT, July 23, 2024, North Central Florida river task force reactivated following raw sewage spills across Georgia state lines, Continue reading →