Tag Archives: north Florida

Clean rivers before rain 2023-02-09

Update 2023-02-11: Clean Thursday from Franklinville to US 41: Withlacoochee River, but raining now 2023-02-09.

Good news: all WWALS tests pretty clean for yesterday’s samples, on the Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers.

Warning: It’s raining, and will more tomorrow, so contamination may wash into the rivers from creeks such as Okapilco, Sugar, and Cat Creek.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

No new sewer spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida, not since the two Rochelle, GA, spills of January 30th that we discussed in the previous post.

Thanks to Continue reading →

New week river water quality update 2023-02-06

Update 2023-02-10: Clean rivers before rain 2023-02-09.

Here’s an update between our weekly WWALS water quality reports.

Three more downstream WWALS Withlacoochee River test sites matched the upstream ones for Thursday, February 2nd, as predicted.

However, not as predicted, Valdosta got too-high upstream results for Friday, February 3rd, at GA 133 and US 84 (but not at US 41). So apparently the drizzle of rain that Thursday did wash something into the river. However, Valdosta’s results for Monday at the same sites are all good, so whatever it was, it was short-lived.

And Rochelle, Georgia, got around to reporting another small far-upstream sewage spill in the Alapaha River basin.

[Chart, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide, 2023-02-02]
Chart, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide, 2023-02-02

The additional downstream sites I sampled last Thursday were the Continue reading →

Videos: Morven Solar denied @ Brooks County Commission 2023-02-06

After two hours of speakers in the Public Hearing, the Brooks County Commission this Monday denied the Special Exception for Morven Solar, 3:1:1.

[Speakers, Decision: Morven Solar @ Brooks County Commission 2023-02-06]
Speakers, Decision: Morven Solar @ Brooks County Commission 2023-02-06

Commissioner Myra Exum, after saying that whatever the Commissioners did they would be wrong, Continue reading →

WWALS Aid Booth @ Ididahike, Wayside Park, Suwannee River 2023-03-18

WWALS will have an aid station at Wayside Park in White Springs, Florida, near the end of the 2023 Suwannee River Ididahike.

North Florida Trailblazers support WWALS, so we support them.

[Ididahike, Suwannee River Wayside Park Ramp]
Ididahike, Suwannee River Wayside Park Ramp

If you want to volunteer at the WWALS booth, or just come see us, that’s Wayside Park is on the south (downstream) side of the US 41 bridge over the Suwannee River. The entrance is off of eastbound US 41 before the bridge. GPS 30.3255, -82.739167

[NFTB Postcard Ididahike]
NFTB Postcard Ididahike

Thanks to Sara Jay for organizing the table.

To go on the hike, you need to Continue reading →

Water budget, limit water withdrawals, do better aquifer recharge –WWALS to NFRWSP 2023-01-31

Update 2023-09-14: Draft 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP) workshop 2023-09-21.

Sent as PDF.

January 31, 2023

To: SRWMD, SJRWMD, partnership@sjrwmd.com

Re: Water budget, limit water withdrawals, do better aquifer recharge, NFRWSP

Dear Water Management Districts,

Thank you for the opportunity for public input.

[Not every demand needs water withdrawals]
Not every demand needs water withdrawals

At the November 15, 2022, public meeting about the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP), I thanked the presenters for all the hard work they had put into the details, such as in the North Florida-Southeast Georgia (NFSEG) regional groundwater flow model .

I have some issues with another level. I noticed repeated assertions in the public meeting that demand or projected demand are just taken as givens. So basically anybody who wants to build a golf course, or start another titanium mine, or plant almond trees that need lots of water, that’s just a given, that’s demand.

Continue reading →

Ask the Georgia Legislature to act while GA-DNR keeps passing the buck about mining near the Okefenokee Swamp 2023-01-27

GA DNR keeps passing the buck about the proposal to strip mine for titanium within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp, by miners from Alabama, Twin Pines Minerals, LLC. The Swamp is the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers and it interchanges surface water with groundwater all the way down to the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink.

Please go ahead and send in your comment on the Mining Land Use Plan.

And ask your Georgia House Representative to sign on to HB 71, the Okefenokee Protection Act. That bill will not stop this permit application, but it would stop further expansion of that mine and any other mines on the east side of the Swamp.

[Trail Ridge Land LLC]
Trail Ridge Land LLC
Land the Charlton County Tax Assessors show owned by Trail Ridge Land LLC.
The northwest corner buts right up against the Swamp.

Floridians, you can comment. And you can ask your Georgia friends and relatives to ask their statehouse members to sign on to HB 71.

Back in September, Georgia DNR Board Chair Bill Jones said Continue reading →

Clean rivers 2023-02-02

Update 2023-02-09: New week river water quality update 2023-02-06.

Happy paddling, fishing, and swimming (if you like cold) this weekend!

Yes, we are paddling tomorrow (Saturday) on the Withlacoochee River from Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park. If you like high water including a quarter mile paddle upstream, join us!

All the WWALS water quality tests were well within the one-time test limit.

The rains promised for yesterday mostly did not happen, so most likely not much contamination washed into the rivers.

The only sewage spill was small and at the top of the Alapaha River watersheds, and it did not appear to affect downstream water quality.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

The city of Rochelle, Georgia, at least took less than a week to report its sewage spill. Continue reading →

High and fast: Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River, 2023-02-04

Expedition leader Will Hart says about tomorrow’s paddle from Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park on the Withlacoochee River,

“Water levels are higher now than expected when the outing was planned. All of the springs and shoals will be under water at this level, however we are still on to paddle. The river will also be a bit murky with some floating debris due to runoff from the woods. At these levels it is considered “not for beginners” due to the current and fast flow.

“It will also be a little strenuous paddling up the last 1/4 mile at the Suwannee River confluence at this level.”

If you don’t want to try that last quarter mile upstream part, there is an earlier takeout available.

[Withlacoochee River with Melvin Shoals downstream. Photo: John S. Quarterman 2023-02-03]
Withlacoochee River with Melvin Shoals downstream. Photo: John S. Quarterman 2023-02-03

Follow this link for the rest of the outing details:
https://wwals.net/?p=60888

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

An hour later: Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2023-02-02 2023-02-04

Update 2023-02-03: High and fast: Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2023-02-04.

Due to predicted cold weather Saturday, please gather an hour later, at 9 AM.

[Melvin Shoals, Allen Ramp, Ellaville Landing --Will Hart 2023-02-02]
Melvin Shoals, Allen Ramp, Ellaville Landing –Will Hart 2023-02-02

Water levels are high, so Melvin Shoals is underwater. But if you don’t want to run the shoals, expedition leader Will Hart is offering an early takeout just upstream at Ellaville Landing, on Twin Rivers State Forest land.

Double Door Spring is an awesome thing to see for those who haven’t seen this part of the wild and beautiful Withlacoochee River. We will pass numerous rocky shoals requiring some skills so this outing may not be appropriate for beginners and young children. There are many other clear springs to explore.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 4, 2023

Put In: Allen Ramp, 2726 SW 64th Way Jasper, FL 32052, in Hamilton County, Florida.

GPS: 30.449167, -83.221328 Continue reading →

Valdosta needs more trash traps, but can’t expect volunteers to clean them 2023-01-26

Just to see if Russell Allen McBride had changed his mind since December, I asked him again as he waded in to clean out the Sugar Creek WaterGoat: if Valdosta finally buys more trash traps like they’ve been promising for many months, will he clean them out?

Answer: not unless the city makes that his full time job.

[Russell waist-deep in the trash]
Russell waist-deep in the trash

He also mentioned that the recent big rain washed some trash over the current WaterGoat, so Valdosta needs a better model for this location, which is on Sugar Creek just upstream from the Withlacoochee River.

See the video on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/941601463886544

Or on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/y5Zi8es3nLI


Video by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., 2023-01-26

For much more about the trash situation, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash Continue reading →