Tag Archives: John S. Quarterman

Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe you’d like to join us for Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11.

https://wwals.net/?p=70660

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11

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Come help us clear passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats on the Withlacoochee River.

You do not have to saw. You can pick up trash, photograph, pull aside sawed branches, or just paddle along. Bring a rope for the front of your boat, because with the water this low there will probably be dragging.

We hope to at least get as far as the logjam at the south end of the park, which is about 1.32 river miles, and then we paddle back up.

If we’re really lucky, we’ll get as far as Sugar Creek, which is twice as far. If so, we might take out there, or we might paddle back up.

If we get crazy with the heat, we might even go all the way down and up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp, which is 6.7 miles. This is unlikely.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, July 11, 2026

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, At the end of Hyta Mederer Drive, off of 3781 N. Valdosta Road, Valdosta, GA 31602, downstream from the North Valdosta Road (US 41) Bridge, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Saturday, July 11, 2026

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Pictures: Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center 2025-06-06

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We showed maps, pictures, and the EnviroScape to students brought by the Colquitt / Moultrie Boys and Girls Clubs, at the Gaskins Forest Education Center (GFEC) near Alapaha, Georgia.

We also discussed water trails, water quality testing, trash, and how to stop it being produced.

Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center, Georgia Forestry Foundation, Colquitt/Moultrie B&G Club 2025-06-06

Gretchen Quarterman and her granddaughters Elleanor and Hazel Williams did most of the teaching. They especially like using the EnviroScape to show how watr flowing downhill carries all sorts of things with it.

Thanks to Amanda Rollins of Georgia Forestry Foundation for inviting us again this year.

Thanks to Heather Brasell, as always, for providing the venue. GFEC is near the Alapaha River on the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT). Moultrie is on Okapilco River, as they call Okapilco Creek in Colquitt County. All above the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink with straws.

Heather is also a former WWALS Board member and a current WWALS water quality tester.

Here is video of a WWALS Webinar she did: The effects of forest management on water quality –Heather Brasell, WWALS Webinar 2024-11-14. Continue reading →

WWALS Annual Members Meeting and Quarterly Board Meeting, by Zoom 2026-07-12

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Sunday evening, July 12, 2026:

6:00-6:30 PM, WWALS Annual Member Meeting
Presentation of annual report, election of some board members.

6:30-8:00 PM, WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
Election of Officers, reports by officers, staff, and committees

All online by zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81934488179?pwd=GSsu2IaE4kXf2EoUjgI5S1tsS1fUbU.1

Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1053544810682545/

WWALS Annual Members Meeting, Annual Report 2026-07-12, Quarterly Board Meeting, Election of Officers, by Zoom

AMM

Agenda for WWALS Annual Member Meeting: PDF Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-06-29 and Alapaha River 2026-07-01

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The Withlacoochee River and the Alapaha River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, and it’s even supposed to be sunny Saturday and Sunday morning.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Clean Withlacoochee 2026-06-29, and Alapaha River 2026-07-01, Sunny Saturday and Sunday morning, Happy paddling, swimming, and fishing

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-25

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Update 2026-07-03: Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-06-29 and Alapaha River 2026-07-01.

The Withlacoochee River and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week. Even Sugar Creek tested pretty clean.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, and it’s even supposed to be sunny this weekend.

Maybe you’d like to join WWALS for Gibson County Park to SRSP Paddle, Suwannee River 2026-06-27.

https://wwals.net/?p=70541

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, plus Sugar Creek, 2026-06-25

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Filthy Sugar Creek 2026-06-19

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Update 2026-06-26: Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-25.

WWALS got a filthy water quality result for Sunday at the WaterGoat on Sugar Creek, just downstream from Two Mile Branch and not far upstream from the Withlacoochee River.

I was hoping to include the City of Valdosta’s Monday results for GA 133 and US 84 on the Withlacoochee River, but those are not published yet.

No new sewage spills were reported since our last WWALS water quality report in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

But we have to wonder, since these high Sugar Creek results keep happening, whether there is still some sewage problem on Sugar Creek or upstream on Two Mile Branch or One Mile Branch.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

Filthy Sugar Creek at WaterGoat 2026-06-19, Just upstream from Withlacoochee River

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Pictures: Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20

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More than 20 boatloads of new paddlers went on Reed Bingham State Park Lake, in Juneteenth, June 20, 2026, by Macedonia Community Foundation and WWALS.

Thanks to Fannie Marie Gibbs for the idea. She was indisposed and could not come. Her grandchildren Andre and Aisha Gibbs and friends and relatives brought the food and the games for children.

WWALS supplied the boats and the stunt adults to paddle with children whose parents don’t want to get in a boat: Andrew Reinlieb, Gretchen Quarterman, Scotti Jay, and John S. Quarterman, plus Kimberly Godden Tanner signing people in.

Juneteenth with new boaters, Reed Bingham State Park Beach, Little River 2026-06-20, And food!

Here are some video snippets:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/902855629498139/

https://youtu.be/_APnkogCgcg

People seemed to like it. I took the first boatload out soon after the 11 AM start time, and more boatloads of new paddlers were still going well after the nominal 3 PM end time, even after 4 PM.

Georgia State Parks raised the parking rate from to $10. Sorry about that. Other than that, there was no charge.

June 19, 2027, is on a Saturday, so that’s the most likely next time for this Juneteenth celebration.

If you want to know about Juneteenth the event, try this:

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/moments/juneteenth Continue reading →