Tag Archives: north Florida

Alapahoochee River Cleanup, 2024-07-21

Update 2024-07-22: Pictures: Alapahoochee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2024-07-21.

Join us for a river cleanup including many deadfalls, some interesting creeks, an old steel bridge, some rapids, and Turket Creek Waterfall.

Most paddlers will paddle and collect trash, and some of us will have chainsaws.

This is a relatively strenuous paddle, so it is not recommended for beginners. It’s only 2.83 river miles, but it’s jam-packed.

Thanks to Bird Chamberlain, who lives nearby, for leading this outing.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 2 PM, Sunday, July 21, 2024

Put In: GA 135 Alapahoochee Landing, Between Jennings, Florida, and Statenville, Georgia, in Echols County, 3/4 mile upstream of the GA-FL line and west of Pear Tree Lane, north side of road, left (west) bank.

GPS: 30.62845, -83.0893

Alapahoochee River, Cleanup 2024-07-21, GA 135 to, Sasser Landing

Continue reading →

Quitman, GA, utility maps 2022-01-03

Update 2024-06-15: Brooks County Industrial Park: Site Plan, Grading, Drainage, Water, Sewer 2006-05-09.

These are some sewer and water system maps obtained from the City of Quitman in January 2022 in response to a WWALS open records request.

The March 1986 map by Smith and Gillespie Engineers, Inc. is the easiest to read. Unfortunately, most of the numbers of the lift stations seem to have changed since then.

Lift Station Scan March 1986
PDF

The most informative map is dated March 28, 2019, by Tindall Enterprises, Inc. It has updated numbers for the lift stations that may be current. This matters for determining where reported sewage spills are, and what watersheds they drain into. Continue reading →

Ask for U.S. House co-sponsors for PFAS amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act 2024-06-07

You can help ask your members of Congress to protect military servicemembers, the surrounding community, agriculture, industry, and wildlife.

Numerous military bases in recent years have reported contamination of waterways and groundwater by PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that do not degrade over time, and can cause a variety of diseases.

Map: military sites with known or suspected PFAS discharges –EWG

Right now is an opportunity to get a couple of amendments into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require the Department of Defense to tell everyone about PFAS contamination, to test to see how far it has spread, including private wells, and to provide alternate water supplies if necessary.

That PFAS work will also bring federal dollars to the districts.

You can sign on to a request letter here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeg8c_Stwv5iuXcEEgsYXIx9vIZRQy_lg4RoHIymcR7ZsYNYw/viewform

Or write your own, or call or meet with your Representative.

Affected bases include: Continue reading →

Filthy Franks Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, despite Ashburn spill 2024-06-05

Update 2024-06-14: Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Ichetucknee, Santa Fe Rivers except @ US 129 2024-06-13.

With little rain, the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for Wednesday. But Franks Creek west of Hahira was quite filthy. Why is a mystery, unless the Hahira sewer pipe crossing the creek was leaking.

Clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha River, Filthy Franks Creek 2024-06-05

One sewage spill was reported in the past week, a big one from Ashburn, far upstream from the Alapaha River.

The weather prediction for the weekend is sunny and hot.

The Alapaha is still high, but other than that, happy boating, swimming, and fishing!

Maybe join us tomorrow, Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, 2024-06-08.
https://wwals.net/?p=64848 Continue reading →

Troupville Cemetery Number 2: the black cemetery 2024-06-06

Looks like we’ve finally found the second cemetery of old Troupville, the African-American cemetery.

Troupville Cemetery #2, the black cemetery, Inside Valdosta State Prison, Southwest corner, Tower 5

John Horton, retired law enforcement, remembers watching when the state prison was built back in the 1980s.

He says he was told they wanted to build a gymnasium at the southwest corner, where Tower 5 is. But they dug up human bones instead.

So the old cemetery is visible on satellite maps as a quadrangle inside the main fence, with the interior drive path curving inwards to go around it. Continue reading →

A Georgia City Has Spilled Millions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Into 2 Pristine Rivers –Amber Nolan, greenmatters 2024-06-03

Update 2024-06-07: Filthy Franks Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, despite Ashburn spill 2024-06-05.

Update 2024-06-07: Quitman: Noncompliance, 9 effluent violations, 5 sewage spills, 11 monitoring violations, 1 reporting violation –GA-EPD Nov 2022 – Oct 2023.

A reporter from Key West wrote about what people are saying about Valdosta sewage, and it’s not very pretty.

Maybe Valdosta will get a different public image when it tells people what it is doing, such as the $67 million bond for water and sewer projects the Valdosta City Council will vote on tomorrow.

And when the sewage spills don’t happen anymore.

Meanwhile, if you want to see what we are protecting, you can paddle with us this Saturday on the Withlacoochee River in Florida. https://wwals.net/?p=64848

Valdosta sewage viewed from Key West 2024-06-03: It’s not very pretty

Please go to the original article. I’ve archived it here to be sure it is preserved, using some WWALS images to illustrate it.

Amber Nolan, Greenmatters, June 3, 2024, A Georgia City Has Spilled Millions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Into 2 Pristine Rivers
And the city is hardly doing anything to clean up its mess.

Besides its inclusion in Stephen Foster’s song “Old Folks at Home,” the Suwannee River, along with its sister river, the Withlacoochee, are off most people’s radars. Both are federally designated wild rivers that flow through Georgia and Florida, and offer top-notch kayaking and canoeing opportunities. The lower Suwannee is also home to the 53,000-acre National Wildlife Refuge, and the river’s freshwater springs are extremely popular swimming holes.

Yet, for more than a decade, accidental raw sewage spills into the rivers have been a constant occurrence from a wastewater treatment facility in Valdosta, Ga., and the sewage then flows south across state lines into Florida. Attempts to solve the problem have been bandages on a gash wound, and in April 2024, millions of gallons of sewage again spilled into the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers. So why does this keep happening, and what’s being done to prevent sewage from polluting these pristine rivers? Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers plus High Springs sewage spill 2024-05-30

Update 2024-06-07: Filthy Franks Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, despite Ashburn spill 2024-06-05.

Update 2024-06-05: A Georgia City Has Spilled Millions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Into 2 Pristine Rivers –Amber Nolan, greenmatters 2024-06-03.

With no rain since Monday, the Withlacoochee River tested clean Wednesday, and the Santa Fe River Thursay, even though High Springs, Florida had a sewage spill Thursday; see below.

Three spills appeared in the Georgia EPD Sewage Spills Report for this Tuesday, May 22, 2024: a big one and a little one from Ashburn Saturday and Sunday a week ago, and a tiny one from Quitman Wednesday a week ago; see separate report. https://wwals.net/?p=64971

There’s a slight chance of rain Sunday, 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.

Or come see us 2-7 PM Saturday in Hahira, Georgia, with South Georgia Pride at Music and Art on Main.

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers; High Springs Sewage Spill 2024-05-30

The High Springs spill was reported in the Pollution Spills Report by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

The report says 35,000 gallons were spilled, but 32,000 gallons were recovered, so the remainder was only 3,000 gallons.

The location is rather vague, Southwest 25th Avenue, so I’m guessing it was at the wastewater treatment plant. Continue reading →

Pictures: Florida Folk Festival Saturday 2024-05-25

Update 2024-05-30: Pictures: Florida Folk Festival Sunday 2024-05-26.

People kept asking to sign the petition for a Florida Constitutional Amendment for Right to Clean Water.

Florida Folk Festival, Saturday 2024-05-25, Livelier. Most popular:, Right to Clean Water Petition

We’ll have more of those petitions today, on the banks of the Suwannee River in White Springs, Florida, at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Continue reading →

Pictures: Florida Folk Festival Sunday 2024-05-26

The petition for a Florida Constitutional Amendment for Right to Clean Water brought many people to the WWALS Booth. They went away with a WWALS flyer, so RTCW meshes will with other WWALS activities.

Florida Folk Festival, Sunday 2024-05-26, Florida Petition for Right to Clean Water

Sarah Younger of Sierra Club Suwannee-St. Johns Group shows how to sign the petition. We got 90 signatures on the banks of the Suwannee River in White Springs, Florida, at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park.

Florida registered voters can sign any time:
https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org

Each signature gets us (and all the other groups participating) closer to getting the petition through Florida Supreme Court review and onto the 2026 ballot. The beauty of it is that it doesn’t go through governor or the legislature. And once it gets on the ballot, environmental constitutional amendments tend to get approved by huge margins. Which will put it in Article I, along with other basic human rights such as freedom of speech.

Many thanks to WWALS volunteers Gee Edwards and Bird Chamberlain for helping. Continue reading →

Three judges for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting

Hahira, Georgia, May 30, 2024 — Three judges, from Berrien County, Georgia, Madison County, Florida, and Columbia County, Florida, will decide at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest Finals at the WWALS River Revue, September 7, 2024.

Judges, 2024-09-07, 5-8 PM, Valdosta, GA, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Anna Stange (Madison, FL), Tony Buzella, (Lake City, FL), Robert Griner (Nashville, GA)

Judge Tony Buzzella lives in Lake City, and was raised in Miami, FL. He studied under many great teachers, and he has performed with many great musicians over the years, including Frank Hubble, Charlie “Brown” Weatherbee, Rusty Hammerstrum, Leo Villar, Carlos Guzman, and the “Our Gang” Dixieland band during the 1960s and ’70s. He has also performed with Pete Fountain, Bonnie Dawson, Freddie Palmer, Jerry Clower, Grandpa Jones, The Original Salt & Pepper Trio, The Gainesville Jazz Orchestra, Alfonso Levy, and many others.

Judge Anna Stange moved to Madison, FL, in 2019, after 25 years as a music teacher, performer, and educator in the Chicago area. Well known for her multicultural music programs, Anna performed at festivals, libraries, and community events, from Key West to Seldovia, Alaska. Her most recent album, “When Will We Ever Learn: Songs For Peace and Justice,” is a mix of folk and original songs. She currently homesteads on six acres in North Florida with her spouse, 15 chickens, and two lovable mutts.

Judge Robert Griner is a graduate of the Berrien County school system, Valdosta State University, and has a BBA degree. He worked in the banking industry for 51 years and retired as president and director of Trust Bank. His hobbies include professional drummer, licensed pilot, fishing, pheasant hunting, and scuba diving. He enjoys all outdoor activities in beautiful southern Georgia! He has a daughter, Andrea, and a grandson, Jackson. He is a member of the Jacobs Well Church in Nashville, GA.

M.C. Chuck Roberts said, “This is the most dedicated group having fun raising funds to conserve our waterways that I’ve ever been around.”

WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.