The recent Georgia spills are now in the WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida water quality data.
Other than the very large December 2019 Valdosta spill, none of the spills (except one) obviously correlate with high E. coli as tested.
Which one? The April 24, 2020, Quitman spill, which may have been seen four days later at Running Springs on the Suwannee River.
![[Withlacoochee, Quitman spill, Running Springs, Suwannee]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-04-24--quitman-spill-wq/many.jpg)
Withlacoochee, Quitman spill, Running Springs, Suwannee
Update 2020-10-16: Ashburn spilled sewage three times in September 2020-09-27
It was harsh, but it went by fast. Except there seem to have been at least two sources of contamination.
The Health Advisory has been lifted for the Withlacoochee River, and I’ve set all the Withlacoochee “beaches” green again on Swim Guide.
![[Lifted, Green on Swim Guide, Sources]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-05--wq/many.jpg)
Lifted, Green on Swim Guide, Sources
The contamination that reached the GA-FL line on October 1st appears to have started from Continue reading
Update 2023-12-23: The Real Trash Problem is the Producers, and How to Stop It 2023-12-23.
Update 2023-02-05: Beyond cleanups: trash traps, ordinances, business permits, reusable substitutes, bottle deposits, and single-use packaging bans 2023-02-05.
Update 2020-11-18: Landslide Yes on Georgia Amendment 1 to dedicate trust funds!
People shouldn’t litter, but individuals are not the real litter problem. The companies that make all those throwaway items are the problem. There are fixes, which we can implement. One fix Georgians can vote on right now: vote Yes on Amendment 1 please!
There was no lack of trash on the Alapaha River in September, at Berrien Beach Boat Ramp in Berrien County and at Berrien Beach in Lanier County. We found the usual cigarette butts, shotgun shells, and yes, a few used diapers.
Plus tires. To help stop tires being dumped by rivers, please vote Yes on Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1 to stop fee diversions.
We found fewer shotgun shells and tires but more of everything else at Twomile Branch in Valdosta, Sugar Creek, and the Withlacoochee River in August.
Come to the big cleanup this Saturday on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers in Lowndes County and on Sugar Creek, Onemile Branch, and Twomile Branch in Valdosta October 10, 2020!
We expect as usual the most numerous items will be plastic and glass bottles and cans.
Sure people shouldn’t litter, but Anheuser-Busch and other beer makers, as well as Nestlé, Coca Cola, and Walmart, should stop making and selling disposable bottles and cans.
Fifty years ago those things had deposits on them, and people would collect them for the cash. In economic downturns such as right now, that could be useful to a lot of people, and a lot more cleanups would happen. Sure, there was still trash back then, but not as much.
People still do in Hawaii and nine other states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont, plus Guam. They don’t have nearly as big of a litter problem.
But Georgia or Florida do not have such container deposits. Maybe we should change that.
No, recycling will not solve this problem. There’s no market for plastic to recycle, and recycling has been pushed by big oil for years as an excuse to make more plastic throw-away containers. Laura Sullivan, NPR, 11 September 2020, How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled.
You’ve probably seen the famous ‘Crying Indian’ ad from 1971: Continue reading
Steve Nichols and Suwannee Riverkeeper will ask again: does anybody want to drink dirty water? That’s 8:30 AM tomorrow, October 6, 2020, on 105.9 FM WVGA. In addition to water quality testing, we’ll also discuss the big cleanup coming up this Saturday on three rivers and many creeks, and the Third Annual WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia into Florida and back. Plus some other outings.
![[Water Quality Testing]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-08-18--suwrk-steve-nichols-radio/5testing.jpg)
Water Quality Testing 2020-08-18
The top rated morning talk show in south Georgia, Steve Nichols offers both sides of every story from Berrien County to the Beltway, and everywhere in between.
You can listen at 105.9 FM, on the WVGA Live apps, through ValdostaToday.com (link on front page), on Alexa devices, or you can stream in-studio video at the official Morning Drive Facebook page.
When: 8:30 AM, Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Where: 105.9 FM WVGA (see above for how to listen)
Event: facebook
Thanks to Steve Nichols for helping promote the Third Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, which went very well.
On Saturday, October 10, 2020, in conjunction with Lowndes County,
WWALS will be doing a three-location cleanup at Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River, on Sugar Creek down to the Withlacoochee River, and at Naylor Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, plus Valdosta is organizing several creek cleanups.
https://wwals.net/?p=53557
![[Flyer: Cleanup on three rivers, many creeks]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-10--tri-river-cleanup/trioflyer.jpg)
Flyer: Cleanup on three rivers, many creeks
On Saturday, October 24, 2020, there’s the Third Annual WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia into Florida and back.
Tickets to the WWALS Boomerang are
$20 online through Ocotber 15,
then $30 at the event.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wwals-boomerang-paddle-race-2020-tickets-118844038719?aff=efbeventtix
For much more, follow this link: wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-24–boomerang/ Continue reading
Rochelle, Ashburn, Tifton, Adel, Moody AFB, Valdosta, and Quitman all spilled sewage into the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia from December 2019 through September 2020. But only one of those spills since December is likely to explain any contamination we’ve been seeing on the Withlacoochee River.
![[Little, New, Withlacoochee, Summary, Alapaha River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-30--sewage-spills-suwannee-river-basin/many.jpg)
Little, New, Withlacoochee, Summary, Alapaha River
Yes, there were also some spills in Florida in the Suwannee River Basin, but those are actually harder to interpret, and they were mostly small, so they will have to wait.
At least Florida lets people sign up for pollution notices by county as they happen. Georgia has no such signup. So I’ve modified the scripts WWALS uses to display changes in the Georgia Sewage Spills Report to also send me an email alert.
Here are the Georgia spills, where, what streams they went into, and how far upstream that was: Continue reading
Thanks again to the City of Adel for Resolution #18-02 that they passed on January 16, 2018, in support of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.
Also in the big image above you see a new sign for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail. More on that, later.
For now, note that the sign has the new City of Adel logo on it. That logo and the signed resolution are courtesy of City Clerk Rhonda P. Rowe.
The text of the resolution we published at the time.
Here is a signed and executed copy. Continue reading
Update 2020-09-11: fixed document and map links and added form for comments.
The Adel City Council had no questions after their Public Hearing on annexation and rezoning for a wood pellet plant, Tuesday, September 9, 2020, after thirty minutes of speakers for and against.
That was just the first reading. The second reading will be 5:30 PM, Monday, September 21, 2020, at Adel City Hall.
![[Maps and speakers, wood pellet plant, Adel City Council 2020-09-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-08--adel-city-council/many.jpg)
Maps and speakers, wood pellet plant, Adel City Council 2020-09-08
After the meeting I asked the City Manager, the City Clerk, and a couple of City Council members what maps and plans they had looked at. They all said they hadn’t seen any, and maybe I should talk to Economic Development. So I asked her, and she didn’t seem to indicate she’d seen any.
Yet there are maps and plans in the air permit application to GA-EPD, and others reviewed by the Planning Commission, which, as the City Manager pointed out during the meeting, issued a Public Notice of its public hearing on July 6, 2020. I don’t know why these state and county agencies have not published these documents, nor why the City of Adel has not. But those are public documents, so here they are (see Air Quality Permit maps and Planning Commission maps).
Below are videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE) of the pellet plant part of the Adel City Council meeting. See also the agenda and the WWALS letter to the Adel City Council. See also some helpful documents by the Dogwood Alliance
And this handy Dogwood Alliance form to send a comment to the Adel City Counci l.
By the way, this kind of work does take time and effort, so feel free to contribute to WWALS. . Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (See also PDF)
River and Creek Cleanup, Lowndes County, Valdosta, and WWALS 2020-10-10
Hahira, GA, September 8, 2020 — Lowndes County has three rivers, all great for fishing, boating, and swimming, and Valdosta has many creeks. Everyone enjoys our waterways better when they are clean. Here’s a fun opportunity to get outside and clean them up.
Flyer: Cleanup on three rivers, many creeks
Lowndes County, the City of Valdosta, and WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) are jointly organizing a three-river cleanup in the county, at Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River, at Sugar Creek on the Withlacoochee River, and at Naylor Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, plus cleanups in Valdosta on Onemile Branch, Twomile Branch, and Sugar Creek.
Please join us, from 9 AM to 11 AM, on Saturday, October 10, 2020. No boat required, although if you want to bring a boat, there are water cleanup opportunities at each river location and some of the creeks.
Please bring sturdy mud boots or shoes, long pants and clothes that can get wet or dirty, insect repellant, a refillable water bottle, and an emergency phone number. Trash bags and trash pickers will be provided, as well as drinking water and snacks, but bring your own if you can.
Please maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from people not in your household. Please wear a mask when near people not in your household. We will have extra masks.
Update 2020-09-05: OK this weekend and last, Withlacoochee River 2020-09-03.
Fast changes in water quality in the Withlacoochee River, Okapilco Creek, especially at GA 133 and Knights Ferry, as well as Twomile Branch and Sugar Creek: we could use still more testers to handle all this. The good news is that Valdosta’s results for last week (unlike week before last) are good for the Withlacoochee River.
Valdosta’s results for week before last are a good (bad?) example of how fast Withlacoochee River water quality can change. On Thursday, August 27, 2020, WWALS got excellent results at all three of Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps. Later we learned Madison Health also got excellent results at GA 31 (State Line), CR 150 (Sullivan Launch), and FL 6 (Madison Blue Spring).
![[Good last week, bad previous week]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-08-28--wq/trio.jpg)
Good last week, bad previous week
Yet the next day, Valdosta got horrible results at K.F., Nankin, and State Line on Friday, August 28 21, 2020.
This is why all our water quality posts are merely advisory.
Good one day doesn’t necessarily mean good the next day. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hahira, GA, August 31, 2020 — WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman zoomed into the annual Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Confluence conference on Saturday, August 29, 2020, so WWALS could receive the statewide Volunteer of the Year award while we were finishing the Twomile Branch Cleanup.
The award is for “Individual has gone beyond the call of duty to improve water quality and meet AAS goals.” We emphasized it was not just one volunteer, but many, in our one-minute award acceptance video. We also thanked Georgia Power again for a grant. We didn’t have time to mention we’re getting testing kits to WWALS testers in Florida, upcoming WWALS water quality testing training, and branching out to the Santa Fe River, but all that is in this post.
Testers shown in the video include Sara Jay, Scotti Jay, Suzy Hall, Alex Chesna, Bobby McKenzie, Jacob Bachrach, and Trudy Cole. Continue reading
![[Bottles]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-12--berrien-beach-cleanup-pictures/bottles.jpg)
![[Resolution and WLRWT Sign]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-01-16--adel-resolution-wlrwt/many.jpg)
![[Award and Cleanup]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-07-29--wwals-aas-volunteers/award-cleanup.jpg)