Tag Archives: Little River

Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River 2026-08-26 Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27

Update 2026-09-04: Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-28, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-09-02.

Something is wrong with Sugar Creek that is hard to explain by first flush, yet no sewage spills have been found.

WWALS tested Sugar Creek filthy Saturday and Wednesday at the WaterGoat. Valdosta Utilities corroborated that for Wednesday at Gornto Road. Upstream on Hightower Creek at Gornto Road, Valdosta Utilities got too high for Monday, and way-too high for Wednesday, matching WWALS the result for that site. Valdosta also got too high for Wednesday on One Mile Branch at West Gordon Street, but not nearly as high as on Hightower Branch. More on all that below.

Meanwhile, Valdosta Utilities got OK results for the Withlacoochee River upstream at US 41 (North Valdosta Road) and downstream at GA 133 and US 84. WWALS got clean results at Holly Point, only four miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

And WWALS got clean Thursday results for the Santa Fe River.

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

So according to the results we have, avoid Sugar Creek and its tributaries One Mile Branch and Hightower Creek. But on the rivers, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

[Filthy Sugar Creek 2026-08-26, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27]
Filthy Sugar Creek 2026-08-26, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27

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

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19

Update 2026-08-28: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-08-27.

The Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers tested clean this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia, but there was an update on the August 5 Tifton spill.

So according to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, if you can avoid the rains.

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

[Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, No new sewage spills, Happy paddling 2026-08-19]
Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, No new sewage spills, Happy paddling 2026-08-19

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

Sewage Spill, 1103 Golden Road West, Tifton, GA 2026-08-05

Update 2026-08-21 Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-19.

Update 2026-08-07: Clean Withlacoochee, Little, and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-05.

Tifton Utilities reported a sewage spill of unknown gallons into they don’t know where, because of “High Levels of Inflow,” that started August 5, 2026, reported by GA-EPD on August 6.

They reported it at 1103 Golden Road West, Tifton, Georgia. That’s an apparently abandoned house with a broken window. The spill could be from that property. Or it could be from the manhole in the middle of the road.

[Sewage Spill, 1103 Golden Road West, Tifton, GA, 2026-08-05, GA-EPD 2026-08-06]
Sewage Spill, 1103 Golden Road West, Tifton, GA, 2026-08-05, GA-EPD 2026-08-06

Either is uphill from what we call Willow Creek, which flows through Tanzer Creek into the Little River just downstream from US 319.

Don’t you wish sewage utilities would make risk management plans for high rainfall? Continue reading

Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs, August 6, 1953-July 19, 2026

Fannie Gibbs was a friend of WWALS since its beginning. Others will recall her life. Here we recall her water advocacy.

[Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs, August 6, 1953-July 19, 2026, Juneteenth, Reed Bingham SP, When Great Trees Fall]
Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs, August 6, 1953-July 19, 2026, Juneteenth, Reed Bingham SP, When Great Trees Fall

First, Fannie in a boat. This was at Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park, June 19, 2021.

Continue reading

Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

Cook County, Georgia, was ahead of everybody else in passing a datacenter moratorium, way back on December 2, 2024.

Commissioner Rowe moved to approve a moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations in Cook County. Commissioner Daughtrey seconded the motion; the motion carried unanimously.

[Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations --Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02]
Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

According to Cook County Manager Randall Lane, the motion itself is the entire text of the moratorium.

He wrote, “It was added to the Agenda by a Commissioner, and it was voted on unanimously to approve until lifted by the Board.”

Cook County is bounded on the west by the Little River, and on the east by the Withlacoochee River and its tributary the New River. Like everywhere else in the Suwannee River Basin, Cook County drinks from the Floridan Aquifer, for home, industry, and agriculture.

The county seat, Adel, on July 6, 2026, passed its own datacenter moratorium.

Adel’s moratorium is two pages compared to Cook County’s one sentence.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee River, the datacenter moratorium that Madison County, Florida, passed on July 23, 2026, is intermediate in length and complexity.

In between, Lowndes County, Georgia, has passed nothing: no moratorium, and no datacenter ordinance.

For much more about detacenters, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters Continue reading

Adel, GA, Datacenter Moratorium 2026-07-06

Here is the 180-day datacenter moratorium that the City of Adel, Georgia, passed on July 6, 2026.

[Adel, Georgia, Datacenter Moratorium, 180 days, July 6, 2026]
Adel, Georgia, Datacenter Moratorium, 180 days, July 6, 2026

RESOLUTION No. 26-02

RESOLUTION FOR A MORATORIUM ON THE CONSIDERATION, PROCESSING, AND ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS OF NEW BUSINESS LICENSES, BUILDING PERMITS, OR OTHER APPROVALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT OF DATA CENTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF ADEL

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Georgia provides that the City of Adel enjoys and possesses home rule powers, police powers, zoning/land development powers and the ability to license and regulate certain businesses and occupations within the boundaries of the City; and

WHEREAS, the City of Adel shall have, inter alia, the full power and authority to license, regulate, control, or prohibit all businesses (Adel City Charter, Sec. 26);

WHEREAS, the City of Adel may, in the interest of public health, safety, order, convenience, comfort, prosperity, or general welfare, adopt by ordinance a plan or plans for the districting or zoning of the City for the purpose of regulating the location of trades, industries, apartment houses, dwellings, or other uses of property (Adel City Charter, Sec. 24);

WHEREAS, the City of Adel may define and prohibit nuisances within the corporate limits of said City (Adel City Charter, Sec. 27);

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Adel may enact and revise ordinances to regulate the issuance of licenses and permits for the construction, development, establishment, and operation of data centers within the City;

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Adel find there is a present need to review and revise the ordinances, zoning regulations, land development standards, licensing requirements, and nuisance regulations relating to the construction, location, placement, and operation of data centers within the City;

WHEREAS, data centers are a relatively new and evolving land use consisting of Continue reading

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

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!]
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

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-03

Update 2026-06-12: Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-10.

Good news! The Withlacoochee River tested much better this week at GA 133 in Valdosta Utilities results. And it again tested good at US 84, both for Monday.

WWALS got even better results for Wednesday downstream in Florida, four miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

WWALS also got excellent results for the Santa Fe River, also for Wednesday.

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

Happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating. The rivers are up, so you should find all that easier to do.

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

[Clean Withlacoochee & Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-03, No new sewage spills: Happy, paddling, swimming, & fishing]
Clean Withlacoochee & Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-03, No new sewage spills: Happy, paddling, swimming, & fishing

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

Clean Batterbee Branch, Santa Fe River, Withlacoochee downstream, Filthy Withlacoochee upstream 2026-05-27

Update 2026-06-06: Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-06-03.

The Withlacoochee River tested even worse this week at GA 133 in Valdosta Utilities results. Yet it again tested good at US 84, both for Wednesday.

WWALS got even better results for Wednesday downstream in Florida, four miles upstream from the Suwannee River.

WWALS also got excellent results for the Santa Fe River, also for Wednesday.

Meanwhile upstream from the Withlacoochee River and Cat Creek in Berrien County, Georgia, Tish Hall got pretty good results for Tuesday for Batterbee Branch at Shiloh Road, Ray City.

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

I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River upstream of the Little River Confluence.

So at your own risk, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, where-ever you can find enough water, and if you can avoid the rains predicted this weekend.

Or join us tomorrow, for Alapahoochee River Cleanup 2026-05-30.

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

[Clean Batterbee Branch 2026-05-26, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-05-27, Withlacoochee clean downstream, Filthy upstream 2026-05-27]
Clean Batterbee Branch 2026-05-26, Clean Santa Fe River 2026-05-27, Withlacoochee clean downstream, Filthy upstream 2026-05-27

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

WWALS River Revue with Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2026-09-12

Join us at the 4-H Club in Lake Park, Georgia, for the WWALS River Revue sit-down dinner with speakers from Georgia and Florida, music from Finalists in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and Headliner Joe First, last year’s winner. Plus a silent auction, online and in person.

If you like what we’re doing, with water quality testing and water trails and river and lake outings and hikes and cleanups and chainsaw cleanups, come on down and support WWALS and have some fun! We support rights to clean water and solar power in appropriate places, and we oppose unnecessary mines and datacenters, detention centers, and Jacksonville treated wastewater into the Suwannee Basin (Water First North Florida or WFNF).

[WWALS River Revue, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 4-H Club, Lake Park, GA, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026]
WWALS River Revue, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 4-H Club, Lake Park, GA, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Tickets: $65 each:

https://app.betterunite.com/wwals-wwalsriverrevue2026

MC Tim Carroll, a former trumpet player and Valdosta City Council District 5, will introduce the speakers, the Headliner, and the Judges, Anna Stange (Madison, FL), Tony Buzzella (Lake City, FL), and Norm McDonald (Live Oak, FL).

Songwriters, don’t wait until August 12 to send in your song! It can be about any river, creek, spring, sink, swamp, or pond in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin or Estuary, or underground water such as the Floridan Aquifer. Continue reading