Tag Archives: Luke Jones

Clean up and down: Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2021-08-05

Update 2021-08-13: Red US 41, clean downstream 2021-08-12.

All clear for tomorrow’s paddle from Nankin to State Line Boat Ramp, with continuation to Sullivan Launch, on the Withlacoochee River. As always, conditions could change, but all the WWALS water quality tests for Thursday are good at 11 sites on three rivers, including at Nankin and State Line Boat Ramps.

[Chart, Little, Alapaha, Withlacoochee Rivers, Swim Guide]
Chart, Little, Alapaha, Withlacoochee Rivers, Swim Guide

Madison Health did get a too-high E. coli result for Tuesday at State Line. Although that was higher than the 410 cfu/100 mL one-time test limit, it was still below the 1,000 alert limit. The WWALS test at the same location and upstream for Thursday, and the WWALS test downstream at Cleary Bluff for Wednesday, all were much cleaner.

Valdosta’s Friday and Monday test results were also clean upstream and downstream all the way to the GA-FL line.

So I would guess that one Madison Health result was due to the rains in Brooks County Monday; more than half an inch on the US 84 Withlacoochee gauge. Probably they washed something down Okapilco Creek. There are no reports of sewage spills in the past week.

We did have a similar rain in the same place yesterday, but if that washed anything into the river, it should be gone downstream by tomorrow. So just don’t drink the river water and you should be OK. Continue reading →

Good upstream and downstream, Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2021-07-29

Update 2021-08-06: Clean up and down: Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2021-08-05.

All the E. coli test results we have for the Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers are good, all the way down below Allen Ramp almost to the Suwannee River. We don’t test for Fecal coliform, so we don’t know what happened with that sky-high Fecal coliform result Madison Health got for Tuesday. However, from the WWALS test results we have for Wednesday and Thursday, all these rivers seem clean, with two sites tested on each of the Little and Alapaha Rivers, and six on the Withlacoochee.

[Chart, Franks Creek, Alapaha River, Little River, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide]
Chart, Franks Creek, Alapaha River, Little River, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide

We have no new results from Valdosta or Madison Health since yesterday’s post. Apparently Valdosta does have some new results, but they’re having some sort of website problem. Madison Health seems to only test Tuesdays, and only at the state line anymore. That’s too bad, because they both test Fecal coliform, and we do not.

This is yet another example of how the state of Florida needs to step up, fund, and implement regular testing of all the rivers from the state line to the Gulf. Then we might know how far which contamination blob got. We’d also have a better chance tracking it back to its source. Floridians, please ask your statehouse delegation to make it so. Continue reading →