Tag Archives: Little River

Clean Rivers 2022-04-21

Update 2022-04-28: Clean rivers again 2022-04-28.

Happy Earth Day, and good swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend!

All the test results we have are fine for this weekend. There have been no new sewage spills reported in Georgia or Florida. And no rain is predicted for a week.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

All the WWALS test results for Wednesday and Thursday were well down in clean green levels.

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday. They got too high on Okapilco Creek after the Sunday rains (presumably the usual cattle manure). But Valdosta got OK results downstream on the Withlacoochee River for Monday.

Valdosta’s Friday results corroborate what we reported last time. Continue reading →

Ten days until the Tenth BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park 2022-04-30

Adel, Georgia, April 21, 2022 — It’s 8AM, Saturday, April 30, 2022, at Red Roberts Landing in Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia. Join us for a three-mile paddle down the idyllic blackwater Little River into Reed Bingham State Park. Tickets are $30 per boat online only at wwals.net. See https://wwals.net/pictures/2022-04-30–blrpr/

A previous press release had an erroneous date. Please ignore that and come on down Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2022-04-15

Update 2022-04-22: Clean Rivers 2022-04-21.

Due to little rain, the Withlacoochee, Little, and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for last week. There has been significant rain since then, so conditions may have changed. As in E. coli may have washed down Okapilco Creek from cattle manure or from other creeks from other sources. There have been no new sewage spill reports for Georgia or Florida for the Suwannee River Basin.

Apologies for the late WWALS test results report. There were communication confusions during the holiday weekend.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

Thanks to Elizabeth Brunner for testing her usual three GA 122 sites Thursday, at Folsom Bridge on the Little River, Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River, and Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River. Thanks to Gus Cleary for testing Wednesday his usual Cleary’s Bluff below Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River. And thanks to Sara and Scotti Jay for testing the Withlacoochee River Friday at Spook Bridge, Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps.

The most recent data we have from Valdosta is from last Monday upstream and Friday a week ago downstream. The Valdosta data for week before last corroborates our previous WWALS report. Continue reading →

Comment period to GA-EPD about second Adel wood pellet plant 2022-04-01

Please send comments to GA-EPD by May 2, 2022, about the proposed air quality permit for the second Adel wood pellet mill, Spectrum Energy Georgia, LLC, 801 Cook St, Adel, 31620, Application No: 28143. WWALS will be sending in comments, to:

epdcomments@dnr.ga.gov (include “Air permit application” in the subject line)

Or postal mail to:
Air Permit Manager, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 120, Atlanta, Georgia 30354.

[In WLRWT Map]
Cook Street is marked by the red ellipse in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

Remember, this plant would draw wood from as far away as Tallahassee and the Okefenokee Swamp, on top of the wood used by the other Adel pellet plant and the one in Waycross. More clearcutting still means more runoff, more contaminants in the waterways, and more flooding. Continue reading →

It’s back! The Tenth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park 2022-04-30

Adel, Georgia, April 12, 2022 — After pandemic and bad weather the previous two years, the BIG Little Paddle Race is back this year.

You could win in any of a dozen categories, or up to $300 if you beat the previous winning record time. But you are not required to race: it’s a nice spring paddle anyway! On Saturday, April 30, 2022 24, 2021, in Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia, it’s the ninth tenth annual BIG Little River Paddle Race. There will be lunch and tickets will be available for the annual kayak raffle. You can just paddle along this scenic three-mile stretch of tea-colored river on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail among cypress trees, turtles, birds, and yes, alligators. (Don’t pet the alligators and they aren’t likely to bother you.) This race also has fierce competitors, with one past winner finishing in barely more than half an hour.

After having to cancel the event last year due to severe weather, we are hoping for sunnier skies this year. This is a great opportunity to learn about the joys of paddling canoes and kayaks, to see the natural beauty of our region’s blackwater rivers, and to have fun while getting some outdoor exercise with family and friends.

[Tandem female canoe, orange (BW)]
Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of 2019 First female tandem kayak: Megan Robinson & Lily Robinson, of Tifton, GA.

WWALS President Trudy Cole said, “BLRPR is a great opportunity to meet like minded folks and paddle a pristine section of the Little River, while supporting a great organization.”

There are several categories in which you could win, Continue reading →

All rivers bad water quality 2022-04-07

Update 2022-04-15: Clean Rivers 2022-04-15.

Best to avoid the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers this weekend. In very unusual results, all three were too high in E. coli at GA 122, and the Withlacoochee was way too high at Nankin Boat Ramp.

The Ichetucknee tested clean for Tuesday at TREPO’s Hodor Park.

You might try lakes that are not downstream from likely rivers, such as Banks Lake and Grassy Pond, and maybe Reed Bingham State Park, but we have no data on those lakes.

In good news, no sewage spills have been reported in Georgia or Florida. Of course, certain cities (Quitman, Ashburn) almost always report a week or more late, so stay tuned on that.

[Chart, rivers, Swim Guide]
Chart, rivers, Swim Guide

The most recent data we have from Valdosta is for Monday upstream, which was before the Wednesday and Thursday rains. So WWALS data is what we have to go on, and the WWALS results are pretty bad. Continue reading →

Surprisingly Clean Withlacoochee River 2022-04-01

Update 2022-04-06: Location of Quitman sewage spill 2022-03-20.

Surprisingly after significant rain, all tested locations were pretty clean, including Nankin and State Line Boat Ramps on the Withlacoochee River. So as far as we know, this weekend is good for boating, fishing, and swimming. Me, I’d prefer the Alapaha over the Withlacoochee this weekend.

Oh, last Tuesday Quitman got around to reporting a sewage spill that happened nine days later. It’s long gone now.

[Chart, river, Swim Guide]
Chart, river, Swim Guide

Tests Wednesday downstream by WWALS and upstream by Valdosta were pretty clean. Samples Thursday upstream by WWALS were pretty clean. And samples Friday at Nankin and State Line Boat Ramps were also pretty clean. All were below the 126 cfu/100 mL E. coli average sample limit.

We also saw four Wednesday samples by the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC), at Reedy Creek and Cow Creek on GA 129 (both enter the Alapaha River downstream from US 84 and Naylor Boat Ramp), and J. Frank Culpepper Road and GA 135 on the Alapahoochee River (which enters the Alapaha River downstream from Statenville Boat Ramp and slightly upstream of Sasser Landing @ CR 150 in Hamilton County, Florida. All those were well below 126, as well. Continue reading →

Earth Day 2022

Update 2022-04-07: Two Mile Branch Rivers Alive Trash Clean Up, Valdosta 2022-04-16 2022-04-16.

Update 2022-04-05: Constitutional Right to Clean Water: RTCW for Georgia, WWALS Webinar 2022-04-19.

Earth day itself is April 22, 2022. WWALS will have several events surrounding that day: two cleanups, a full moon paddle, a paddle race, and a river paddle and cleanup.

[Cleanups and paddles]
Cleanups and paddles

Before Earth Day

Continue reading →

Bad downstream Withlacoochee River 2022-03-24

Update 2022-04-02: Surprisingly Clean Withlacoochee River 2022-04-01.

Swimming, fishing, boating, not recommended on the Withlacoochee River this weekend, due to E. coli tested by WWALS at Nankin and State Line Boat Ramps for Thursday. It may all wash away soon, or it may not.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

Also note that after the previous weekend’s heavy rains, Valdosta tested high Fecal coliform upstream at US 41 and GA 133. Probably that will also show up in Valdosta Friday results when we get them. In between, Valdosta upstream results were OK, but then it rained hard Wednesday and Thursday. Continue reading →

OK water quality, Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2022-03-17

Update 2022-03-26: Bad downstream Withlacoochee River 2022-03-24.

Surprisingly, after the recent rains, the rivers show mostly clear again. Apparently the efforts of the cattle owners in Brooks County, Georgia, to be part of the solution are working.

I would not hesitate to boat, swim, or fish in the Withlacoochee River today. After checking water levels: they may still be high. And the Alapaha and Little Rivers showed even better results. All could change with more rain, but for now it’s a go, so far as we know.

Meanwhile, could people stop stealing our water trail signs? Looks like somebody even stole the signposts at Nankin.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are from Monday, both upstream and downstream. Their Friday and Monday downstream results for Okapilco Creek @ US 84 confirm what our WWALS results for last Thursday at Knights Ferry on the Withlacoochee indicated: contamination coming down Okapilco Creek from Brooks County. However, that contamination apparently was diluted by high Withlacoochee River levels, and E. coli on the river did not exceed limits for Friday or Monday.

Valdosta did get higher Fecal coliform than E. coli for Friday Continue reading →