Update 2024-12-20: Langdale Park back open 2024-12-17.
On my way to collect some water quality samples, I looked in at Langdale Park towards the Withlacoochee River and Country Club Road at Three Mile Branch, both in Valdosta.
Nope, no driving in those places.
No doubt there are higher priorities for Lowndes County Public Works and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA). Continue reading
The gate is open, but there is room for improvement on the access road.
![[Deadfalls on entry road, 2024:10:23 17:52:25, 30.8860860, -83.3192000]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-10-23--langdale-park-still-closed/20241023_175225.jpg)
Deadfalls on entry road, 2024:10:23 17:52:25, 30.8860860, -83.3192000
Those deadfalls from Hurricane Helene are not even halfway down to Langdale Park Boat Ramp.
I will mention them to Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) and Lowndes County Public Works, but I doubt this park is high on their priority list. Continue reading
Update 2024-09-14: Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2024-09-12.
The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday, but Franks Creek upstream of Hahira tested dirty; that’s upstream of the Little River.
No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
There’s been little rain for a week, so no contamination is expected. The weather prediction shows high chance of storms starting today.
The lower Ichetucknee River, and the Suwannee River downstream from the Santa Fe are in Action Stage, and the Santa Fe at TREPO is still in flood.
The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are now below Action Stage. The Alapaha is actually getting too low, as is the Withlacoochee upstream.
So if you can avoid the rain, happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.
Be sure to join us tomorrow, Saturday, September 7, 2024, for the WWALS River Revue,
5-8 PM at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta.
It’s a sit-down fundraising dinner with speakers from Florida and Georgia, a silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024
Update 2024-09-02: Bad Alapaha WTP Outflow 2024-08-30.
The Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday.
No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. We did hear of a fish kill in Lakes Rowell and Sampson far upstream of the Santa Fe River, apparently on Friday, August 23. People are investigating.
There’s been little rain for a week, so no contamination is expected. The weather prediction shows chance of storms starting Monday, but not for the weekend.
Santa Fe Lake, The lower Santa Fe, and the Suwannee River at Fargo and downstream from the Santa Fe are in Action Stage, and the Santa Fe at TREPO is still in flood.
The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are now below Action Stage. The Alapaha is actually getting too low.
So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.
Be sure to join us Saturday, September 7, 2024, for the WWALS River Revue,
5-8 PM at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta.
It’s a sit-down fundraising dinner with speakers from Florida and Georgia, a silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024
![[Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-08-29--wq/many.jpg)
Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain
Update 2024-08-25: Upstream deadfalls, Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River, Chainsaw Cleanup 2024-08-25.
This deadfall had been there since Hurricane Debby, 20 days before.
It was in our way to Langdale Park Boat Ramp, and we had chainsaws for the Langdale Park Boat Ramp jon boat chainsaw outing, so we removed this deadfall.
We being Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and two people from Live Oak, Florida: Phil Royce and TJ Johnson.
Do we get paid for this, Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority?
Thanks to Wild Green Future for generous grant that paid for the Husqvarna 460 24-inch chainsaw I used to make the main cuts.
Videos:
https://youtu.be/5AnuFDuwNKQ?si=EAkbbFZU_HTLjZcF
Continue reading
Update 2024-08-06: Valdosta announces four minor sewage spills due to Hurricane Debby 2024-08-06.
Yesterday, Richard A. Stalvey reported to Valdosta Utilities, “Obviously, low priority right now, but the manholes at 300 Knob Hill and 215 Knob Hill are flowing profusely. A large tree has also blown down across the manhole at 300 Knob Hill.”
At my request, he sent these pictures, and added, “Typical sewage smell. Couldn’t get close enough to the one on 215 Knob. Too much water in the creek.”
This location has seen many sewage spills before.
I left a telephone message for Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes. No doubt he is pretty busy right now, so we’ll see what he has to say later.
Meanwhile, Quitman, GA, already reported two sewage spills. Without locations or amounts, but at least Quitman informed the public that there have been spills.
Valdosta could do the same. As could Ashburn, Rochelle, Adel, Tifton, Homerville, etc. Continue reading
I thanked Lowndes County for their cooperation in the WWALS Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle, especially Public Works for grading the entrance road to Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River.
This was in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard in the April 9, 2024, Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Earlier when I was talking to the Chairman he indicated the early takeout at Sugar Creek was a bit difficult due to a deadfall. So I mentioned that once the water gets low enough, we’ll work on that and other deadfalls, but meanwhile our chainsaws don’t work well underwater. I requested suggestions for when in March 2025 to hold the next one. I said WWALS has recently acquired a jon boat and outboard, and we’d be happy to take people out on the river, including Commissioners. Continue reading
We also talked about the future Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, in addition to defending the Okefenokee Swamp from a proposed stripmine, chainsaw cleanups, and the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, which will go around the river frontage of the pending Troupville Park.
This was Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman on the Scott James radio talk show on talk921.com, Friday, February 3, 2024. I referred to him as Mayor, because Scott James Matheson is also the Mayor of Valdosta, Georgia.
We also prominently mentioned Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter.
And Helen Tapp, from whom the county in December 2022 bought the 71 acres from Helen Tapp down to the Little River Confluence to add to the 44 acres already owned by Parks and Rec to combine for the proposed park.
Here is a WWALS video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwydpvXE-C4BTMUQqv4yfCg&si=CLMEdlCi8TM3d_Q6 Continue reading
Update 2024-03-06: WTXL TV report and Pictures: Valdosta WWTP water quality lab ribbon cutting 2024-03-05.
Update 2024-01-26: Five clean rivers and a clean creek 2024-01-25.
I discovered a can of worms when I took a few pictures to illustrate the 100,000-gallon Knob Hill Road or Williamsburg Drive, Valdosta sewage spill of 10-12 January 2024.
The actual location is not quite where I was told by Valdosta Utilities. But I cut them a lot of slack for that, because they were working on getting it stopped, not precisely determining ownership of the affected properties.
More importantly, according to Valdosta Utilities Acting Director Jason Barnes, the cause was not as first thought a collapsed sewer main. When Utilities examined the pipes, they found rocks and some sort of lid in them.
And according to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson yesterday, they also found other materials that never should have been in a sewer pipe. I will leave it to the City of Valdosta to reveal in their own time exactly what they found.
From the descriptions I heard, those things could not have gotten in there accidentally, and they could not have been washed into the sewer main by stormwater.
The basic point seems clear: this ten-times-major spill was not caused by failing old sewer infrastructure. It was caused by somebody putting things into the sewer pipes that never should have been there. Vandalism is one of the more polite words for that.
Plus the Mayor is making the City of Valdosta an offer of a location for a WaterGoat trash trap.
So I went Continue reading
Langdale Park is back open to drive in, since Monday.
Join us at Langdale Park Boat Ramp on Saturday, Friday, October 20, 2023, for a boating cleanup.
Don’t worry: if you don’t have a boat or don’t want to use one, you can clean up on land.
You may recall that back on September 28th I thought I’d collect a water quality sample at Langdale Park, and I found downed trees all along the entrance road.
A week later, I checked again, and all that Hurricane Idalia debris was still there.
So I called Lowndes County Public Works. They agreed they did maintain Hyta Mederer Road, and they would open a work order. They asked if it was urgent, or would Monday do? I said Monday would be fine.
![[Thanks to Lowndes County Public Works for reopening Langdale Park]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/gretchen/2023-10-10--langdale-park/many.jpg)
Thanks to Lowndes County Public Works for reopening Langdale Park
And on Monday they got all the impediments off the road. Gretchen Quarterman tood these pictures Tuesday. She got there in her low-slung Prius C.
On the way back out, she took a video.
https://youtu.be/mbIY1uMhzos
![[Langdale Park still inacessible, Country Club Road closed 2024-12-05, Withlacoochee River, Three Mile Branch]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-12-02--hurricane-helene-damage-langdale-park-country-club-road/fbmany.jpg)
![[Clean Withlacoochee River Above and below Valdosta, Dirty Franks Creek Above Hahira and Little River 2024-09-04-05]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-09-04--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chainsawing deadfall, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA, Chainsaws from Live Oak, FL]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-08-25--chainsawing-lpbrdf/fbmany.jpg)
![[More sewage spewing, Knob Hill Road, Valdosta, GA, 2024-08-05, Three Mile Branch, Withlacoochee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-08-05--valdosta-knob-hill-spill/fbmany.jpg)
![[Suwannee Riverkeeper at Lowndes County Commission 2024-04-09, Chairman and Mayor's Paddle, Sugar Creek and Chainsaw Cleanups]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-09--suwannee-riverkeeper-lowndes-county-commission/fbmany.jpg)
![[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle, Withlacoochee River, Okefenokee Swamp, and Troupville River Camp and Nature Park on Scott James radio talk921.com 2024-02-03]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-02--radio-scott-james-videos/igmany.jpg)
![[Spill site behind 215 Knob Hill Road, VALORGIS, VLPRA, Lowndes County Tax Assessors, Pebblewood Drive detention pond, Three Mile Branch]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-01-10--valdosta-knob-hill-road-three-mile-branch-spill/igmany.jpg)