Tag Archives: Lowndes County

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2019-10-20

Announcement
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2 to 4 PM, Sunday, 20 October 2019
South Georgia Regional Library, 2906 Julia Dr, Valdosta, GA 31602
Dial-in Number: (712) 770-5505
Meeting ID: 855-676
facebook event

Addition of Santa Fe River subbasin, WWALS Boomerang Paddle Race, Budget, water quality monitoring, water trails, BIG Little River Paddle Race, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Alapaha Quest, outings, festivals, projects and programs, pipelines, LNG export, titanium mines, phosphate mines, Bill of Rights for Nature, and more.

[Banner]
WWALS Banner. Yes, we will be updating it again to insert Santa Fe before Suwannee.

Invited to attend: WWALS members, especially committee members, and the general public.
All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we have to spend in this meeting.

See the WWALS website for board members and committees.

The agenda will be available later.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Winner Tumbler for WWALS Boomerang and last call for early bird tickets 2019-10-26

Tuesday, October 15, 2019, is the last day for $20 early bird tickets for the WWALS Boomerang Paddle Race from Georgia into Florida and back again.

If you are one of the many lucky winners, you will get one of these tumblers with the Boomerang logo on it:

[Boomerang logo on tumbler]
Boomerang logo on tumbler

Thanks to Fishing Tackle Outlet on Madison Highway for becoming a sponsor. You or your organization can also sponsor the WWALS Boomerang. Sponsors get their name and logo on a banner, in announcements, and in flyers, with various other perks at different levels of sponsorship.

Everything about WWALS Boomerang 2019 is here:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2019-10-26–boomerang/

Continue reading →

Trash in wetlands at Flying J, Exit 2, I-75 2019-08-23

Update 2019-12-19: Cleanup finishing at Flying J, Exit 2, I-75, Lowndes County, GA 2019-12-10.

I must compliment Lowndes County Code Enforcement, the Flying J, Dynamis, and Deep South Sanitation, about this cleanup at the Flying J, Exit 2, I-75, Lake Park, Georgia, about a mile from the GA-FL line.

[Trash in gap]
Trash in gap

On August 23, 2019, I sent this picture and the location to Lowndes County Code Enforcement:

[Still more trash]
Still more trash

Code Enforcement Director Mindy Bates responded within the hour: Continue reading →

Full house at Cook County Comp. Plan Workshop 2019-09-16

Cook County had the most people I’ve ever seen at one of these meetings in any county! SGRC’s Elizabeth Backe corroborated my remark, noting I had recently been to the Charlton County meeting.

[Cook County and its four cities]
Cook County and its four cities

The next meeting will be 3 PM, Monday, October 7, 2019, at the Cook County Commissioners Conference Room, 1200 S Hutchinson Ave., Adel, GA.

The purpose of the first meeting was: “we will review the community vision, goals, issues, and opportunities — for the county and all four cities (Adel, Lenox, Cecil, and Sparks).” All four cities were at the meeting, and each of them spoke at various times. Also unlike most other such meetings in other counties, nobody was sitting up front; everybody was in the audience.

Here is marked up document from the first Workshop: Word, PDF.

As usual, I suggested adding more about rivers and water trails. This additional Opportunity on page 2 I think was my suggestion: Continue reading →

WWALS at Hahira Honeybee Festival 2019-10-04-05

Join us at the 38th Annual Hahira Honeybee Festival, at the WWALS booth about water quality testing, water trails, paddle outings, holding polluters accountable, all to make sure that water in our area is swimmable, fishable, drinkable. Come help us spread the water word.

When: 10AM-6PM, Friday, October 4, 2019
9AM-6PM, Saturday, October 5, 2019

Where: West Main Street, Hahira, Georgia

Theme: “Teachers, changing our world one child at a time!”

Volunteer: You can help at the WWALS booth. Sign up on this form or send us email.

Event: facebook

Families, Gretchen making rain, Enviroscape
Photo: John S. Quarterman, of Gretchen Quarterman making rain on the Enviroscape for a family, Honeybee 2018. Thanks for the donation of the EnviroScape, Savannah Barry and Nature Coast Biological Station.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Tycor Farms Solamerica Solar Farm in Alapaha River Basin

Solamerica Energy is building another solar farm in the Alapaha River Basin, leasing from Tycor Farms LLC, 6530 GA 376, Lake Park, Georgia, 31636.

[Alapaha River Water Trail Map]
Map: John S. Quarterman, from WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail Map.

There seem to be wetlands on the east side of the property, leading to Enoch Creek, then into the Alapahoochee River, into the Alapaha, the Suwannee, and on to the Gulf. However, the likely wetlands seem to be along the eastern edge of the cleared area, so one can guess Continue reading →

WWALS at South Georgia Pride Saturday 2019-09-21

Come on down to the South Georgia Pride Festival in Saunders Park in Valdosta this Saturday. At the WWALS booth you can play the froggy toss game and talk about our outings and advocacy, including how you can volunteer to help keep our waters clean!

When: Noon-5PM, Saturday, September 21, 2019

Where: John W. Saunders Park, 1151 River Street, Valdosta, Georgia

Event: facebook

[Froggy Toss]
Froggy Toss

Maybe we’ll do water quality tests on Sugar Creek. Continue reading →

Pictures: WWALS at South Georgia Pride 2018-09-15

It was a fun time last year at South Georgia Pride. Join us at Saunders Park again this Saturday!

[Gretchen at the booth]
Gretchen at the booth

Maybe Barber Spring will be running. Maybe we’ll do water quality tests on Sugar Creek. Continue reading →

Free boat rental at WWALS Boomerang, from Georgia to Florida and Back Again 2019-10-26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valdosta, GA, September 16, 2019 — Two outfitters will have boats for free rental; thanks, NWXpeditions and VSU Core! Or bring your own, of course. Again this year, Boy Scouts of America, South Georgia Council, will be there. TNT Hot Dogs will have food, and paddlers each get a ticket for a beer at Georgia Beer Company. “There’s still time for more sponsors to sign up!” said Boomerang mastermind Bobby McKenzie, “And you can wear your Halloween costumes!”

[Flyer]
Flyer
PDF

“This is the sort of cross-state-line ecotourism all the local counties say they want to promote, maybe including some friendly Georgia-Florida rivalry,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, “Paddle racing and leisurely paddling on the idyllic blackwater Withlacoochee River. Plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals!”

Gathering at 11AM, Saturday, October 26, 2019, at State Line Ramp in Georgia, we will paddle into Florida, with staggered starts for turnarounds at 1, 2, and 3 miles, then back to where we started.

Tickets are $20 until October 15th, then $30.

Vendor space is free for nonprofits vested in conservation or stewardship of our waters. There is a $20 fee for for-profit vendors, and because it’s a park a selling permit is required. Thanks to Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for use of State Line Boat Ramp.

Sponsors get their name and logo on a banner, in announcements, and in flyers, with various other perks at different levels of sponsorship.

Everything about WWALS Boomerang 2019 is here:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2019-10-26–boomerang/

Continue reading →

Moody AFB sewage spill, Mission Lake 2019-08-06

Update 2021-04-02: Moody AFB NPDES Permit No. GA0020001, which affects not only Beatty Branch in the Withlacoochee River Basin, but also Mission Lake and Grand Bay in the Alapaha River Basin, via “Sanitary, groundwater infiltration, runoff, potable water treatment plant, and vehicle maintenance.”

Did you know Moody Air Force Base had two sewage spills this month? Thanks to GA-EPD, we knew about them, and Moody AFB posted news reports on both of them. One went into Mission Lake, upstream from Grand Bay and the Alapaha River. The other went into Beatty Branch, upstream from Cat Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Building 769 and Mission Lake]
Building 769 and Mission Lake

23d Wing Public Affairs, News, 7 August 2019, Sewage Spill Notification, Continue reading →