Suddenly, all the fecal coliform readings are down. Was there a first flush from the rain on November 14 that caused the high readings of that day, and all that washed down the rivers within a week?
At US 41 (North Valdosta Road), the Withlacoochee River was actually in minor flood several of the intervening days, according to the USGS US 41 (Valdosta) Gauge. Continue reading
Twenty five times the state limit for Fecal coliform could be a problem. What got into the Alapahoochee River last week?
If you want to help find out what’s getting into our rivers, you can Continue reading
Yes, your organization can still sign on!
![[More Signatures]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-10-31--ga-epd-spill-resolution/Resolution-Requesting-GA-EPD-to-timely-publish-spill-reports-0003.jpg)
GA-EPD Richard E. Dunn did answer on November 2, 2018, saying they would look into telling everyone when anyone spills. We will keep collecting signatures and delivering them until we see daily spill updates on the GA-EPD website.
Follow this link for the whole resolution.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Was there rain Wednesday? That might explain the sudden spikes at US 41 on the Withlacoochee River, at GA 133 on the Little River, and at State Line on the Withlacoochee River. We can guess that the rains Thursday and Friday (today) have washed away whatever that very odd spike was at the state line.
Thanks to Valdosta Utilities and Valdosta City Clerk Teresa Bolden for sending this Wednesday’s Valdosta water quality testing data before the end of Friday. For more contact, see https://wwals.net/issues/vww/.
It’s a very odd spike, because Continue reading
Valdosta’s bacterial counts are always low at State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells), where we moved the WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia to Florida and back.
Things were generally better last week in the Withlacoochee Basin, except for the Little River at GA 133, just above Troupville Boat Ramp. Continue reading
Fecal coliform went down last week to 195 at US 41 and 200 at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, right at the Georgia limit of 200 cfu/100 ml, while rising slightly at US 41 and at the GA-FL line at the Madison Highway Horn Ferry Bridge, according to Valdosta’s testing.
Wednesday of this week, we still don’t know, because Continue reading
Pollution spill maps online, up to date, with interactive links to details: Florida is doing it, and so can Georgia.
For more than a year FDEP has been posting spill reports online in a spreadsheet the same day it gets them, with email notice signup (Alabama also does that). FDEP has added a Public Notice of Pollution (PNP) Finder: Last 30 Days, which helps a lot in finding spills in our watersheds.
Did you know there was a Phosphoric Acid spill at White Springs last week, on Continue reading
If California can do it, so can Florida. The petition deadline for FDEP’s Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) got pushed back to January 2019, so we shall see.
Sara Rubin, Monterey County Weekly, 20 September 2018, Victory for Monterey Coastkeeper as court rules regulations for ag runoff fall short,
Even California’s water quality law, the Porter-Cologne Act, recognizes the challenge. A 2004 addendum about nonpoint source pollution put it this way: “Current land use management practices that have resulted in nonpoint source pollution have a long and complicated physical, economic and political history… Therefore, it is expected that it will take a significant amount of time for the [regional water boards] to approve or endorse nonpoint source control implementation programs.”
Photo: Nic Coury, “Otter Project Director Steve Shimek stands near the Monterey County Water Resources Agency’s Blanco Drain, which conveys ag runoff exceeding state water quality standards to the Salinas River,” in Court slams Central Coast farm runoff rules as too weak, orders water quality improvements, by Sara Rubin, Monterey County Weekly, 14 August 2015.That time, according to the Court of Appeal for California’s Third District, has come. A Sept. 18 decision Continue reading
Thanks to all who helped get HB 879 out of one committee and into the Rules Committee. It needs to get out of there to the full Georgia House by this Wednesday February 28, 2018.
So please contact your Georgia state legislators to ask them to back both bills that will help keep coal ash off our lands and out of our waters.
Here’s an easy way to send email to your Georgia statehouse Representative and Senator.
There’s more about the bills below. Continue reading
Please contact your Georgia state legislators to ask them to back two bills that will help keep coal ash off our lands and out of our waters.
Mercury from Coal Plant Scherer north of Macon goes up in the air and comes down in our Alapaha River. Coal ash from Tennessee and Florida is in the landfill in Lowndes County, Georgia that is a quarter mile uphill from the Withlacoochee River. Even the landfill owner doesn’t want any more coal ash, because it costs extra to keep it separate from other waste to prevent chemical reactions.
Here’s an easy way to send email to your Georgia statehouse Representative and Senator.
There’s more about the bills below. Continue reading