Tag Archives: Lowndes County

Datacenter water use and Irwin County Planning Commission and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16

In an interview yesterday by WALB TV:

Meanwhile, WWALS Watershed Coalition Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said his own research raises concerns about what large-scale data centers could mean for local water resources and river health.

[Datacenter water use, Irwin County Planning Commission, and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16]
Datacenter water use, Irwin County Planning Commission, and Industrial Authority @ WALB TV 2026-02-16

Quarterman said data centers typically require significant water for cooling and large amounts of electricity to operate, which he argues can indirectly affect water resources through increased demand on power generation. He said the Suwannee River Basin and surrounding aquifer systems are closely connected, meaning impacts to surface water can also affect drinking water supplies, agriculture and recreation.

[Whirlpak 2026-02-26 --WALB TV]
Whirlpak 2026-02-26 –WALB TV

Quarterman adds that water levels in some rivers and springs are already low during drought conditions, and he said he worries additional industrial demand could place further strain on natural resources.

See also the datacenter bills in Datacenter proposed, Irwinville, near Alapaha River 2026-02-26.

https://wwals.net/?p=69394

Taylor Lewis, WALB News 10, February 16, 2026, updated 6 PM, 2nd South Georgia county moves to dissolve industrial authority: What it could mean for future data center builds. Continue reading →

Videos: Geography of Opportunity, by Vickie Everitte, a WWALS Webinar, 2025-12-11

History Instructor Vickie Everitte conducted a historical exploration of Georgia’s Wiregrass Region and the complex stories of survival, resistance, and adaptation that unfolded there after the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson.

WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction to this WWALS Webinar. Questions and answers were at the end, including a distinguished guest.

[Geography of Opportunity, by Vickie Everitte, a WWALS Webinar, 2025-12-11]
Geography of Opportunity, by Vickie Everitte, a WWALS Webinar, 2025-12-11

Here is a zoom video of this WWALS Webinar:

https://youtu.be/ULUwKQEOh10

Her slides are on the WWALS website in PowerPoint and PDF. Images of each page are below.

Native American and Passageways to Freedom within the Wiregrass Region1

As settlers moved south of the Oconee River, drawn by the land’s economic promise, waves of migration and militia efforts reshaped the landscape—and the lives of the Native American families who called it home. Through rivers, streams, and the vast Okefenokee Swamp, Indigenous people found ways not only to endure but to carve out paths of freedom and self-determination amid the U.S. Indian Removal Policy of the 1830s.

Drawing from original correspondence between settlers, militia, and Georgia’s governors in Milledgeville, this presentation reveals how waterways became corridors of escape and survival. As Everitte reminds us, “Swamps are places on the margins — as much, they are places of transition, opportunity, and challenge.”2

About the Speaker

Continue reading →

Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05

Once a year I go to Atlanta to talk to Georgia state legislators about water issues. Also to catch local elected and appointed officials and representatives of various organizations from the most populous county and city in the Suwannee River Basin: Lowndes County and Valdosta, and nearby.

[Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05, Georgia state legislature, Railroad Freight Depot]
Lowndes County Bird Supper, Atlanta, GA 2025-02-05, Georgia state legislature, Railroad Freight Depot

Lowndes County feeds the legislators quail and grits at the historic Railroad Freight Depot, and they flock to eat.

This year, the next day happened to be Okefenokee Day at the nearby Georgia State Capitol, so I did a two-day trip.

I’m still following up on contacts from both events.

Here’s what the Chairman and the Mayor had to say, Continue reading →

Five days of changes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-14

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

Update 2025-02-14: Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13.

This is the busiest week I can remember in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, yet only one new minor spill was reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia.

No new sewage spills were reported this week in the Basin in Florida.

[GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14]
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports, 5 Days ending 2025-02-14

The Pinehurst spill of February 6 was newly reported on February 12, but for reasons given below is not our concern. It was updated the next day with Overflow Locaion of “Spill was located along highway 49 outside the city of Pinehurst. The area affected was a thickly vegetated and wooded area with no nearby homes or businesses.” Today, February 14, it was updated again to remove that Overflow Location, which is unusual.

As the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) apparently realized today, Pinehurst is not in the Suwannee River Basin. I could figure out whether it’s in the Flint or Altamaha River Basins, but for three reasons (minor spill, “Did not enter waters of the State”, and not in the Suwannee River Basin), it’s not my problem. It still showed up in the WWALS processing today because we pick up everything in Dooly County since part of that county is in the Suwannee River Basin and we don’t want to miss anything.

The Valdosta January 14 Jackson Street spill was first reported on January 17. Today’s report only adds the cause: “Debris obstruction from trash from local corrections facility.” I’m not sure what corrections facility that would be, but it was still a tiny spill that did not get into Browns Canal or down into Sugar Creek or the Withlacoochee River.

So the winner is Ashburn, with Continue reading →

Little River upstream 2014-06-28

Thanks to Chris Graham for leading this one, and to Edwin Brunot for the pictures.

[Little River Upstream 2014-06-28, Troupville Boat Ramp, GA 133]
Little River Upstream 2014-06-28, Troupville Boat Ramp, GA 133

We got maybe a mile and a half upstream from Troupville Boat Ramp, on GA 133, St. Augustine Road, west of I-75 Exit 18, at Val Tech Road.

We saw shoals, an island, high banks, narrow, and wide, sandy bottom, and of course the prison, just upstream from Troup Bridge.

Troupville Boat Ramp was then known as Little River Boat Ramp, before we got Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) to rename it.

It is still often known as the Prison Boat Ramp, due to Valdosta State Prison just upstream. Continue reading →

Pictures: Public Meeting about Okefenokee NWR expansion 2024-11-12

Update 2024-12-09: Virtual public meeting about the minor proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 2024-12-09.

Update 2024-11-16: Why Okefenokee NWR expansion matters in Florida –Rose Schnabel, WUFT 2024-11-16.

Chip Campbell, formerly of Okefenokee Expeditions Adventures, summed it up so everyone could understand, the proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge: nobody has to sell land.

According to https://www.fws.gov/refuge/okefenokee, “The public has until November 18, 2024 to submit input via email to Okefenokee@fws.gov”

[Nobody has to sell land with Okefenokee NWR expansion, Public Meeting, Folkston, GA 2024-11-12]
Nobody has to sell land with Okefenokee NWR expansion, Public Meeting, Folkston, GA 2024-11-12

To paraphrase Chip’s paraphrase: the Refuge expansion is aspirational. With it, if someone wants to sell to the Refuge they can. Without it, they can’t.

The expansion does nothing to affect the strip mine application. The miners could choose to sell or donate the land before any permit. They could mine and later donate or sell the land. Or neither. But without the expansion, there is no mechanism for their land to join the Refuge.

Addressing the dozen or so people from Charlton and the other counties surrounding the Refuge, Chip said they could sell or take out a conservation easement, or not, if they are within the expansion boundary. Nobody is making them do anything. Continue reading →

Chainsawing deadfall from Langdale Park Boat Ramp entrance Road 2024-08-25

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.

[Chainsawing deadfall, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA, Chainsaws from Live Oak, FL]
Chainsawing deadfall, Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2024-08-25, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA, Chainsaws from Live Oak, FL

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 →

Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee Rivers 2024-05-22

Update 2024-05-31: Ashburn and Quitman sewage spills reported 2024-05-22.

With no rain for four days, the Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee Rivers tested clean this Wednesday. We have no Valdosta data, because it’s a holiday weekend.

The only sewage spill reported this week was an old small one from Tifton, far upstream.

There’s a chance of rain tomorrow, but probably not enough to cause much contamination.

Happy swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend if you can find a river that is not too high. Maybe try the Suwannee River upstream from the Alapaha River, or the Santa Fe River upstream from the Ichetucknee River. Most of the other river stretches are pretty high; see below.

Or come see us at the Florida Folk Festival, on the Suwannee River in White Springs, Florida, this Saturday or Sunday.

[Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, Ichetucknee Rivers 2024-05-22 dirty Knights Creek 2024-05-20]
Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, Ichetucknee Rivers 2024-05-22 dirty Knights Creek 2024-05-20

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

The old Tifton sewage spill that showed up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report for May 21 was 6,000 gallons of raw sewage on May 13, 2024, at the Southside Lift Station on W. Golden Road, due to Power failure. Continue reading →

Dirty Withlacoochee and Alapaha River and creeks 2024-05-15

Update 2024-05-24: Clean Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee Rivers 2024-05-22.

After the big rains Monday and Tuesday, the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested dirty this Wednesday, as did almost every creek location in Valdosta’s followup testing, including Sugar Creek at Gornto Road, just above Valdosta’s Sugar Creek WaterGoat trash trap, and the last test site before the Withlacoochee River.

If I were you, I’d avoid the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers this weekend. Maybe try the Suwannee River upstream from the Alapaha River, or the Santa Fe River upstream from the Ichetucknee River. Also, rain is predicted.

WWALS has cancelled the Suwannee River paddle for tomorrow, due to predicted thunderstorms. It will be rescheduled later.

[Dirty Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers and creeks 2024-05-15;
Dirty Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers and creeks 2024-05-15;

The river tested too high in E. coli at all three of Valdosta’s test sites, North Valdosta Road (NVR), GA 133, and US 84, and way too high at Russ Tatum’s WWALS test site at Holly Point, below Allen Ramp in Florida. NVR (US 48) is upstream from all of Valdosta’s creek test sites for this week. There are a couple more creeks upstream from there that come out of Valdosta, but we also know something comes down Cat Creek after big rains. We have a grant application in to fund more testing up there. Continue reading →

Navigable stream additions to GA HB 1397 2024-02-27

Update 2024-02-28: Navigability in HB 1397 in GA House Natural Resources & Environment Quality Subcommittee 2024-02-26.

Sent this morning.

[Navigable stream additions to GA HB 1397 --WWALS 2024-02-27]
Navigable stream additions to GA HB 1397 –WWALS 2024-02-27

February 27, 2024

To: Cc:

Rep. James Burchett (176), james.burchett@house.ga.gov

Rep. John Lahood (175), john.lahood@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Dexter Sharper (177), dexter.sharper@house.ga.gov,

Rep. John Corbett (174), john.corbett@house.ga.gov ,

Rep. Chas Cannon (172), chas.cannon@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Penny Houston (170), penny.houston@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Darlene Taylor (173), darlene.taylor@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Clay Pirkle (169), clay.pirkle@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Leesa Hagan (156), leesa.hagan@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Bill Yearta (152), bill.yearta@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Noel Williams (148), noel.williams@house.ga.gov,

Rep. Patty Bentley (150), patty.bentley@house.ga.gov

Re: Navigable stream additions to HB 1397

Rep. Burchett,

You are invited to the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle on the Withlacoochee River just west of Valdosta, this Saturday, March 2, 2024. Continue reading →