Tag Archives: Little River

Valdosta Sewage Public Meeting, Valdosta City Hall Annex, 2020-01-08

Update 2020-01-30: Videos.

Update 2020-01-05: Earlier this same Wednesday: Florida Sen. Bill Montford hosting Valdosta sewage public meeting in Madison, FL 2020-01-08.

A Special Called Meeting of the Valdosta City Council, about Valdosta’s record-largest raw sewage spill in December 2019, and what to do going forward. Attendees will include the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council (presumably its Task Force on this subject), and apparently GA-EPD, EPA, FDEP, SRWMD, and of course Suwannee Riverkeeper. It is a public meeting, so anyone can attend. If it’s run like previous such meetings, anyone can ask questions. We have plenty. I hope you do, too.

When: 6 PM, Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Where: General Purpose Room, Valdosta City Hall Annex, 300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, GA 31601

Event: facebook


“What storm events keep you up at night?” Alachua County Commissioner Ken Cornell asked Valdosta Utilities Director Darryl Muse, 2019-10-07.

Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage from Sugar Creek to Florida 2019-01-01 2020-01-01

Update 2020-01-03 Valdosta Sewage Public Meeting, Valdosta City Hall Annex, 2020-01-08.

You can see Valdosta’s sewage going down the Withlacoochee River as the high red numbers in these composite tables WWALS has cobbled together from various data sources (all acknowledged below).

Early on, the sewage apparently mostly sat in Sugar Creek downstream from the spill site, due to low water and no rain.

[Early (12/10-12/18)]
Early (12/10-12/18)

Most of the Georgia numbers in above table are from Valdosta Utilities data. The ones marked with a W are WWALS data using the Georgia Adopt-a-Stream 3M Petrifilms method.

Fecal coliform numbers started dropping in Sugar Creek at Gornto Road on December 14, and were much more acceptable by December 15 and 16th. Where did the sewage go? Continue reading →

Letter: Valdosta Mayor and Council support Troupville River Camp 2019-12-19

Well, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle sent this letter to GA-DNR week before last, although the part of DNR I talked to Monday was unaware of that. Today I got a copy from the City Clerk and forwarded it to GA-DNR.

[The initial investment for this project would be small and the long-term eco-tourism it would create would be far reaching.]
The initial investment for this project would be small and the long-term eco-tourism it would create would be far reaching.
PDF

On behalf of the Valdosta City Council, it is with great pleasure that we supply this letter of support for the WWALS Watershed Coalition’s pre-application for grant assistance for the Troupville River Camp in Lowndes County.

The Troupville River Camp would be a great asset to our community. The proposed property is in an excellent location near the Confluence of the Little River with the Withlacoochee River and not far from I-75 and GA Highway 133. The initial investment for this project would be small and the long-term eco-tourism it would create would be far reaching. Not only would the Troupville River Camp be a boon to Valdosta and Lowndes County, but also for other communities in South Georgia and North Florida,

We want to make Valdosta a place where people will want to live, work, and play and the Troupville River Camp would help us to achieve that goal. We wholeheartedly recommend and humbly ask for your consideration of the pre-application for grant assistance for the Troupville River Camp in Lowndes County.

This is the letter that Valdosta City Council Continue reading →

Videos: Troupville River Camp at Valdosta City Council 2019-12-05

Valdosta City Manager Mark Barber described the Troupville River Camp project and the letters received at that time (more have since come in). After brief discussion, the Council approved unanimously the Mayor sending a letter of support.

7b. Request for letter of support by WWALS
LAKE Video.

In Citizens To Be Heard (CBTH), WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman thanked Council for approving the letter.

10. CTBH. - Gretchen Quarterman - WWALS ED
LAKE Video.

All the letters received thus far, including Continue reading →

Letter: Valdosta Disc Golf Association supports Troupville River Camp 2019-12-30

The president of Valdosta Disc Golf Association (VDGA) offers in-kind design services and maintenance for Troupville River Camp.

[Our club members would be an important partner in helping to keep the River Camp park and grounds clean.]
Our club members would be an important partner in helping to keep the River Camp park and grounds clean.
PDF

My name is Mark Gaither, the current president of the Valdosta Disc Golf Association (VDGA), and on behalf of the club, I would like to offer our support on the construction of the Troupville River Camp. Valdosta currently has Continue reading →

Water Trail signs reposted at Knights Ferry and Nankin Boat Ramps 2019-12-29

Update 2020-06-15: And again six months later, Knights Ferry Boat Ramp signs replanted 2020-06-15.

Thanks to Dan Phillips for replanting new and updated copies of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT) signs at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp and Nankin Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River.

[Knights Ferry Boat Ramp]
Knights Ferry Boat Ramp

The previous signs were stolen. If you want copies of these signs, we’ll be happy to sell them to you for $50 a pair.

Or you can donate to the cost of printing more of these metal signs to go at more access points.

[Nankin Boat Ramp]
Nankin Boat Ramp

The signs at Nankin Boat Ramp are attached to the video surveillance sign so as to be Continue reading →

E. coli at Troupville, Little River Confluence, and Spook Bridge, Withlacoochee River 2019-12-21

2019-12-25: Even filthier E. coli counts at Knights Ferry on Withlacoochee River 2019-12-24.

The Withlacoochee River is still filthy with Valdosta’s record-largest raw sewage spill. Please don’t even touch the river water from Sugar Creek in Valdosta all the way to the Florida state line and beyond into Hamilton and Madison Counties, Florida. If you have a well near the Withlacoochee River in that area, there is free well testing available from Lowndes County (and maybe Brooks County), Georgia, and Hamilton and Madison Counties, Florida.

[Green at the Confluence]
Photo: Scotti Jay, Green at the Confluence, with Sara Jay preparing to test, 2019-12-21.

Slightly upstream from the Little River Confluence, Sara Jay tested Saturday and got 533 cfu/100 ml E. coli. This is in between the numbers she got a bit upstream at the GA 133 Withlacoochee Bridge, 633 last Tuesday and 433 on Thursday.

[Sugar Creek via Ga 133 to US 84]
Sugar Creek via Ga 133 to US 84, Withlacoochee River with the GA 133 bridge highlighted,
on the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

As reported yesterday, Saturday Suzy Hall saw 4,966 cfu/100 ml at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, which is up in the ranges of Continue reading →

E. coli at Little River Confluence, Spook Bridge, and Knights Ferry, Withlacoochee River 2019-12-21

2019-12-24: E. coli at Troupville, Little River Confluence, and Spook Bridge, Withlacoochee River 2019-12-21.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, GA, Monday, December 23, 2019 — At Knights Ferry Boat Ramp Saturday Suzy Hall tested 4,966.67 cfu/100 ml E. coli, far higher than anything previously recorded there, and almost five times the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream alert level. There were still no warning signs, not at Knights Ferry, and not at State Line Boat Ramp, where Suzy Hall got 100 cfu/100 ml, when all our previous readings were zero (0).

“It appears that Valdosta’s record-largest wastewater has caused a public health emergency in the Withlacoochee River and Valdosta is not even warning people about it at river access locations,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “Florida is being proactive; what is Valdosta doing? How about Lowndes Health? Lowndes County (didn’t cause this problem, but needs to help deal with it). GA-EPD? EPA? Statehouse and Congressional delegations? This report will go to all of them today.”

[Knights Ferry & State Line Ramps]
Photo: Suzy Hall, of her Petrifilms of water samples taken from the Withlacoochee River at Knights Ferry & State Line Boat Ramps.
Method: count blue dots with bubbles (E. coli colonies) on each plate.
Add the counts, divide by three, and multiply by 100, to get colony forming units (cfu) per 100 mililiter of water.

The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Bacterial Monitoring manual says: Continue reading →

Hamilton County, Florida, BOCC supports Troupville River Camp 2019-12-10

Hamilton County, Florida, sent a letter supporting the Troupville River Camp an hour before I mentioned it to the Lowndes County, Georgia, Commission on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

[what a synergy would be created by this project as it will capitalize on the same efforts of development of eco-tourism efforts here.]
what a synergy would be created by this project as it will capitalize on the same efforts of development of eco-tourism efforts here.
PDF

Hamilton County Fl. is just south of the state border from the project and realizes what a synergy would be created by this project as it will capitalize on the same efforts of development of eco-tourism efforts here.

Thanks especially to Continue reading →

Valdosta City Council votes to send letter supporting Troupville River Camp 2019-12-05

Last night on the Valdosta City Council agenda, as mentioned Monday on WCTV, they did vote for the Mayor to send a letter of support for the Troupville River Camp project.

[Voting]
Voting

This was the last scheduled act of outgoing Mayor John Gayle, for which we thank him and the Council.

WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman thanked them in Citizens to Be Heard.

Before the meeting, I handed in Continue reading →