Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!
![[Green Swim Guide and test results]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-08--wq/many.jpg)
Green Swim Guide and test results
The opposite of last week’s advisory, this week all testers show quite clean results up and down the Withlacoochee River, and at Cook County Boat Ramp on the Little River, too. Continue reading
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
Update 2020-11-18: Landslide Yes on Georgia Amendment 1 to dedicate trust funds!
Update 2020-10-07: On Steve Nichols radio show, with video.
Don’t you think taxes and fees charged by a state should go to the purposes the state said they would? Well, in Georgia, many such funds have been mostly diverted to the general fund, and then who knows where. You can vote in this election to stop that: vote Yes on Amendment 1.
![[Six cities and counties for Amendment 1]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-11-03--ga-amendment-1-trust-funds/many.jpg)
Six cities and counties for Amendment 1: Adel, Hahira, and Valdosta, Atkinson, Lanier, and Lowndes Counties.
For example, the state of Georgia charges a fee on every tire sold, with funds supposed to go to cleaning up old tires and other waste management. Yet more than $50 million of those funds have been diverted to other purposes. It’s not just tires. Other examples of diverted funds include ones for indigent defense and judicial programs, peace officer training, and teen driver training.
There is no organized opposition to Amendment 1. Pretty much the only opposition stated during passage of the authorizing bill was about being able to use funds during an emergency. The bill explicitly allows that. The bill passed the Georgia Senate unanimously and the House with only one vote against.
Organized support for Amendment 1 includes six cities and counties in the Suwannee River Basin: the cities of Hahira, Valdosta, Adel, and Atkinson, Lanier, and Lowndes Counties, each of which passed a resolution in January 2019 in support of the bill that authorized putting Amendment 1 on the ballot for 2020. Also, the Valdosta Daily Times supported it in an editorial. WWALS supports Amendment 1, as do, so far as we know, all the Riverkeepers of Georgia.
This is how Amendment 1 appears on the ballot:
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to dedicate revenues derived from fees or taxes to the public purpose for which such fees or taxes were intended?
( ) YES
( ) NO
Please vote YES.
Below is the text that Amendment 1, when approved, will add to subparagraph (r)(1) to paragraph VI in section 9 of Article III of the Georgia state constitution: 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
Update 2020-10-06 Two or more sources last Tuesday, advisory lifted Monday, Withlacoochee River 2020-10-05.
A Health Advisory was isssued today by Madison and Hamilton Counties, Florida, for fecal bacteria in the Withlacoochee River, apparently based on a too-high water quality test result at the GA-FL line on Thursday (yesterday). As that washes downstream, it’s probably best to avoid the river. Upstream, Valdosta reported a too-high reading at GA 133, and that is probably also washing down the river, so this is not a good weekend for boating.
![[Chart, State Line, Swim Guide, Advisory]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-02--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, State Line, Swim Guide, Advisory
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida water quality results, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/
You sure can’t tell what’s in Withlacoochee River water by looking at it. Continue reading
Update 2020-10-02: Health Advisory, Withlacoochee River, State Line 2020-10-02.
Mostly all clear on the Withlacoochee River in a bunch of data Valdosta and FDEP posted recently, except a bad reading at Knights Ferry Friday a week ago, and yet again a problem at GA 133 this past Monday.
The latest (Wednesday by Valdosta and Thursday by Madison Health) indicates good quality for this weekend. Since there has been hardly any rain to wash anything into the river, all the WWALS Withlacoochee River “beaches” remain green on Swim Guide.
Happy boating, so far as we can see!
Valdosta’s new data goes back two and a half weeks downstream, and FDEP filled in Tuesday a week ago as well as this Tuesday and Thursday.
That long chart is hard to read, so let’s take it a week at a time. Continue reading
It was a lot of fun for all ages last year, and you can paddle this year! The WWALS Boomerang is coming up Saturday, October 24, 2020, at State Line Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River. You can choose 1, 2, or 3 miles downstream into Florida, and then back up.
There is plenty of room for distancing at the boat ramp, and even more room on the water.
Each of the winners in many categories gets one of those WWALS Boomerang tumblers, and there’s a $100 First Prize!
Tickets are on sale now, $20 online until October 15, then $30 at the event.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wwals-boomerang-paddle-race-2020-tickets-118844038719
Canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards are welcome to register starting at 9 AM, Saturday, October 24, 2020, with the race to begin at 11 AM.
It was a fast start last year: Continue reading
Update 2020-09-26: GA 133 and Knights Ferry in 2.5 weeks of Valdosta and Florida water quality data 2020-09-24.
The most diverse set of testing data ever! It’s not bad upstream on the Withlacoochee River, but worse the farther down the Suwannee River, and, surprisingly, also the Santa Fe River.
Valdosta has reported for upstream on the Withlacoochee River for last Wednesday (good) and Friday (bad at GA 133, good at US 84).
Suzy Hall reported for WWALS at Clyatt Mill Creek (not bad, and thanks Langdale Company), and on the Suwannee River at Gibson Park (good for E. coli but very puzzling) and Anderson Spring Launch (good).
Loretta Tennant reported for WWALS on the Santa Fe River at Lemmons Ramp (alert!) and on the Suwannee River at Ivey Metropolitan Park in Branford (bad) and at Yellow Jacket Ramp between Manatee Springs and Fowlers Bluff (horrible). That’s enough to make us wonder if some of what’s getting into the Lower Suwannee River might be coming from the Santa Fe River.
We have no new data from FDEP or other Florida government agencies. Floridians, maybe you’d like to ask your elected and appointed officials for more water quality testing, especially downstream where we’re finding these bad results.
Meanwhile, all the WWALS “beaches” on Swim Guide remain green. That’s because we don’t have as beaches GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River nor as yet anything on the Suwannee River.
![[Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-14--wq/withlacoochee-suwannee.jpg)
Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers
in the
WWALS map of all public boat access in the Suwannee River Basin.
Valdosta reported late this afternoon on its usual Continue reading
It was fun and productive: cleaning up Twomile Branch and Sugar Creek, plus a bit of the Withlacoochee River.
And we got a statewide award while we were there!
The award was the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Volunteer of the Year Award, for all the WWALS water quality testing volunteers, many of whom were at this cleanup. Thanks again to Georgia Power for the grant for testing equipment. WWALS is doing an AAS testing training this Saturday.
Join us for another cleanup at Sugar Creek on Saturday, October 10, 2020, or any of several other river and creek locations that same day, in conjunction with Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta. Or help us clean up this Saturday, September 12, 2020, at Berrien Beach Boat Ramp, northeast of Nashville, Georgia, on the Alapaha River.
Thanks to Nic Llinas and Sean of Current Problems for coming up from Gainesville, Florida, to bucket fish in Twomile Branch. Continue reading
![[Bottles]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-12--berrien-beach-cleanup-pictures/bottles.jpg)
![[Charts and map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-24--wq/many.jpg)
![[Pictures Banner]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-10-24--boomerang/pictbanner.jpg)
![[Rivers and Results]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-09-20--wq/many.jpg)
![[Bucket, need boat, Withlacoochee River, spider, bottle, handoff, Great Blue Heron, trash, Volunteer of the Year --GA AAS]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-08-29--twomile-branch-cleanup/many.jpg)