Tag Archives: Ichetucknee River

Six Songs of the Suwannee Basin 2026-08-27

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Hahira, Georgia, August 27, 2026 — We got six fine songs about the crystal clear Ichetucknee River spring water with its wild turkey and deer flowing into the Santa Fe, and about the dark blackwater of the Suwannee River, with its gators, herons, ghosts, and memories.

“So fine, the organizing committee decided you can hear all six next month at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, in WWALS River Revue” said Sara Squires Jones, Chair of the organizing Committee.

That’s 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Lowndes County 4-H Club, in Lake Park, Georgia.

[Six Songs: Bear and Robert, Saylor Dollar, Tom Brown, Sweet William Ennis, KC Nayfield, Robert Thatcher]
Six Songs: Bear and Robert, Saylor Dollar, Tom Brown, Sweet William Ennis, KC Nayfield, Robert Thatcher

“Before you hear the songwriters, you get a sit-down dinner with cash bar, two speakers, and a headliner, plus a silent auction,” said WWALS Board president Gee Edwards.

Read all about it here:

https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2026

“Your ticket or sponsorship or silent auction item helps with the advocacy and activities of WWALS,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

What happens when you cross a folkie with a bluesman? You get Continue reading →

Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on Scott James radio 2026-08-13

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Last call, songwriters, tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19, 2026:

https://forms.gle/fihLNVC2xbD1SXBB6

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman discussed the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest last Thursday at the Mayor’s day job, the radio show he owns and hosts on talk921.fm.

Songs can be about any waterbody in the 10,000-square mile Suwannee River Basin or Estuary in Georgia or Florida, including the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Alapahoochee, or Suwannee Rivers, or the Okefenokee Swamp, or any other river, creek, swamp, or sink. Plus underground waters such as the Floridan Aquifer.

Songwriters can be from anywhere; they come from as far as Tennessee and south Florida.

[Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest by August 19, on Scott James radio, Finalists play September 12, 2026]
Songs for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest by August 19, on Scott James radio, Finalists play September 12, 2026

Here are WWALS videos from that radio show:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2118859655696045

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcL-5a7I2nc/

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTFinxTNQsw&si=u4CDRXlSjW5tCIl6

Once we get those last few songs from the procrastinating songwriters, the organizing committee will select Finalists.

The Finalists will play at WWALS River Revue, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Lowndes County 4-H Club in Lake Park, Georgia, on Long Pond.

https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2026

When you buy a ticket, you get to hear them along with the three judges, who will select the winners.

And you get a sit-down dinner with cash bar, Headliner Joe First, who is last year’s winner, and two speakers:

  • Amy Sharma of Science for Georgia, talking about hyper-scale AI datacenters.
  • Rick Davis, Chair of the dozen-county Florida Task Force, talking about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the currently-hibernating scheme to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into wetlands in the Suwannee Basin.

Plus a silent auction! Continue reading →

Florida Governor Candidates: Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-17

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Here’s what six people running for Florida Governor have to say about clean water. The other candidates did not respond.

We got a variety of answers about WFNF, desalination, potable reuse, WMDs, datacenters, and RTCW. For what these candidates wrote about those and other issues, see below.

[Florida Governor Candidates, Clean Water Questionnaire, WFNF, Datacenters, WMDs, etc. --WWALS 2026-08-17]
Florida Governor Candidates, Clean Water Questionnaire, WFNF, Datacenters, WMDs, etc. –WWALS 2026-08-17

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is conducting a Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire: #WWALSCleanWaterQuestionnaire

We already reported responses from statehouse District 9 and District 10, and also U.S. Congress Florida District 2.

For much more about Water First North Florida (WFNF), see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

If you are a candidate for state or national office in Florida this year, in the Suwannee River Basin, we sent you a questionnaire. If you didn’t get it, please let us know.

https://wwals.net/donations/contact/

Primary Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18. Continue reading →

Hydrologic Conditions Report –SRWMD 2026-04-30

In case you thought recent rains had solved the drought, think again.

This is the April 30, 3026 Hydrologic Conditions Report that was presented at the May Governing Board meeting of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD).

[Hydrologic Conditions Report --SRWMD 2026-04-30, Still in drought, Need much more rain]
Hydrologic Conditions Report –SRWMD 2026-04-30, Still in drought, Need much more rain

https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/DocumentCenter/View/19656/04-April-26-Hydro-Reportk

SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
MEMORANDUM

TO: Governing Board

FROM: Robbie McKinney, Hydrologic Program Manager, Office of Water Resources

THRU: Hugh Thomas, Executive Director

DATE: April 30, 2026

RE: April 2026 Hydrologic Conditions Report

RAINFALL

  • Districtwide average rainfall for the month was 0.88”, which was about 74 percent lower than the 1932-2025 average of 3.38” (Table 1, Figure 1). The 12-month period ending April 30 reflected a Districtwide rainfall deficit of 20.22”, which was an increase to the 19.98” deficit seen at the end of March. District counties ranged from just over 0.5” to 1.4” of rainfall on average, with parts of Taylor, Suwannee, Columbia, Hamilton, Union, Gilchrist, and Dixie counties receiving more than 2.5 inches of rainfall (Figure 2).
  • Overall, a 12-month rainfall deficit was present in all river basins, with the Aucilla and Coastal basins increasing in deficit by the end of April (Figure 3). A small area in the southern Waccasassa Basin showed a deficit of less than 8 inches. Portions with deficits greater than 29” were also observed in the Aucilla, Santa Fe, and Suwannee basins. Each river basin increased its 3-month rainfall deficit by the end of April (Figure 4). No surpluses were seen over the past 3 months, and each river basin had areas measuring anywhere from less than 6” to more than 9” of deficit. Sections with greater than 9” of rainfall deficit can be seen in all 5 of the basins.

SURFACE WATER

Continue reading →

Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

Published with permission, here is what Dr. Bob Knight ferreted out from USGS and the WMDs about groundwater pumping.

You’d think they would publish this information, but since they didn’t, WWALS is.

These slides (PowerPoint or PDF) don’t say anything about Water First North Florida (WFNF), the WMD and JEA plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin, but this is the groundwater background to WFNF.

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

[Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse --Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09]
Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping Is Getting Worse –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09

He sent these slides to various environmentalists on May 9, 2026, with this note. I asked him later in person if he minded WWALS publishing. He said go ahead.

All

Attached is an updated summary of Florida groundwater wells, permits, and reported extraction quantities from the Floridan aquifer. All data were provided by the water management districts and the USGS. But the summaries of those reams of data are my work and may not be complete and accurate in all cases. Surprisingly, the WMDs have differing data bases and few detailed summaries of these data. For now, I believe these may be the best data summaries out there. Historically (up to 2015) Richard Marella formerly with USGS reported a lot of Floridan aquifer detailed/summary data every five years. That important contribution ended in 2015 and there is no sign that it will be picked back up by the state or the USGS.

The inconvenient truth is that all groundwater extractions reduce spring flows and that data analysis indicates that the ratio is almost one to one. Measured spring flow reductions closely mirror these reported pumping totals and differ widely from groundwater flow model estimates.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Bob

Continue reading →

WFNF on Jacksonville TV 2026-04-22

This is probably the first most people in the Jacksonville area have heard of Water First North Florida (WFNF).

It’s great that the SRWMD and SJRWMD Executive Directors consider clean water a personal issue. They’re still pushing an overly complex, expensive, and risky 60+-mile pipeline for treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin.

There are less expensive, fast-to-build, less risky, and more scalable solutions.

https://wwals.net/?p=70046

For more about WFNF, including who you can contact and a petition, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

[WFNF on Jacksonville TV, Andrea Snody, News4JAX 2026-04-22, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, Hugh Thomas, SRWMD, Mike Register, SJRWMD]
WFNF on Jacksonville TV, Andrea Snody, News4JAX 2026-04-22, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, Hugh Thomas, SRWMD, Mike Register, SJRWMD

Andrea Snody, News4JAX, April 22, 2026, Jacksonville wastewater plan could reshape North Florida water supply, Continue reading →

The promoters bear the burden of proof about WFNF –WWALS to SRWMD 2026-04-13

This is the letter I sent SRWMD and gave them on paper this morning.

You can see it in SRWMD’s own video on YouTube. Public Comments start at 20:28.

https://www.youtube.com/live/OwKstHuSHNg?si=nF1yXXiXayn91J7p&t=1228

My bit starts at 38:20.

https://www.youtube.com/live/OwKstHuSHNg?si=yJ_hyAkBR3r_JPR6&t=2300

[The promoters bear the burden of proof about WFNF --WWALS to SRWMD 2026-04-13]
The promoters bear the burden of proof about WFNF –WWALS to SRWMD 2026-04-13

Three other people spoke against WFNF in Public Comments, and there was more comment by the board members at the end, as well as some allusions during the Public Hearing about the Modified Phase II Water Shortage Order. You can see and hear those for yourself in the SRWMD video. I may blog some more of that later.

For much more about WFNF, including the letters and resolutions against it by towns, counties, and regional entities, as well as who you can contact and a petition, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Below is the text of the WWALS letter to SRWMD for their 9 AM meeting this morning.

I also sent a similar letter to SJRWMD for their 10AM meeting this morning.

Images of both letters are below.

Maybe some day they will stagger their board meetings so it is possible to attend both, as Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson asked them 9 years ago. Continue reading →

Packet: Governing Board –SJRWMD 2026-04-14

Update 2026-04-14: The promoters bear the burden of proof about WFNF –WWALS to SRWMD 2026-04-13.

Update 2026-04-13: Stagger SRWMD and SJRWMD Board meetings –Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson 2027-01-17.

You can talk about WFNF in Public Comment at the SJRWMD Board meeting tomorrow.

The agenda packet for Tuesday’s 10 AM SJRWMD Governing Board meeting is considerably lighter than the agenda the same day for SRWMD. There is nothing about Water First North Florida (WFNF) and no change to the previous Modified Phase II Water Shortage Order from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD).

You can’t go to both, unless you have a time machine, because SRWMD meets at 9 AM and SJRWMD at 10 AM and it’s a three-hour drive from Live Oak to Palatka.

But maybe you have friends or family who can go to the SJRWMD meeting and ask questions.

For some such questions and much more about WFNF, including a petition, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

[Packet: Governing Board --SJRWMD 2026-04-14, Palatka, FL, with Public Comment]
Packet: Governing Board –SJRWMD 2026-04-14, Palatka, FL, with Public Comment

Or you could write the the SJRWMD Board or Executive Director; see their web page. Continue reading →

What you can do about WFNF, slides –Suwannee Riverkeeper 2026-04-02

Here’s the WWALS video of me speaking and my slides. Basically, there are much better ways to rehydrate wetlands, springs, and rivers in the Suwannee Basin, such as Jacksonville can desalinate seawater. And there are other places JEA can send its treated wastewater in the St. Johns Basin.

[What you can do about WFNF --Suwannee Riverkeeper 2026-04-02, You can help with better solutions]
What you can do about WFNF –Suwannee Riverkeeper 2026-04-02, You can help with better solutions

To stop this project, we need a groundswell of public opposition such as stopped golf courses in state parks. You can help.

For who you can contect, and a petition you can sign, plus more information about WFNF, including all the city, county, and regional letters and resolutions against, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

For the rest of the speakers, see Continue reading →

Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2026-04-12

Here is the draft agenda and the zoom parameters for the WWALS Quarterly Board meeting Sunday evening, April 12, 2026.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89308028204?pwd=VmwyMzVTMVR6WGJxbUFUSlFXWFRWQT09

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 6:00 PM, Sunday, April 12, 2026

What: The usual board business.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1630092761633059/

[Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees]
Agenda: WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, By zoom, 6-8 PM, 2026-01-11, Advocacy, outings, events, Board, Staff, and Committees

Here is the agenda (see also Continue reading →