Tag Archives: Quantity

Stream Flow, SE Gulf and Atlantic Rivers

The Suwannee River flows most in May, and most of that comes almost equally from Upper Suwannee River (to Santa Fe River confluence) the Withlacoochee (with Little River and Okapilco Creek), the Alapaha, and the Suwannee from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Alapaha confluence. This is an interestingly different seasonal pattern from other rivers of similar flow, such as the Altamaha, Savannah, St Johns, Flint, and Chattachoochee.

These are screenshots from the interactive ESRI Hydro Hierarchy, http://maps.esri.com/rc/radial/, whose Help message says: Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meeting, Nashville, GA 2016-03-09

Received today this NOTICE, SUWANNEE-SATILLA REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING, Announcement Date: February 16, 2016, TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES::

The Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council is holding its next meeting for the Review and Revision of the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Plan at the following date, time, and location:

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Registration: 9:00 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
Meeting: 9:30 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.

Nashville Community Center Continue reading →

Floridians Against Fracking defeats pro-fracking bill

Thanks to the indefatigable Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River and all the Floridians Against Fracking (WWALS is a member) who stopped this bogus bill.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson This was national and international news. But this from Florida: Margie Menzel, Palm Beach Post, 1 March 2016, Senator withdraws bill to permit, regulate fracking in Florida,

TALLAHASSEE — The Senate sponsor of a controversial bill about the regulation of “fracking” in Florida withdrew it from consideration Tuesday, saying he didn’t have the votes to get through a key committee.

Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee that the opposition of environmentalists played a key role in thwarting the measure (SB 318).

“Emotions tend to magnify the controversy,” he said.

Well, yeah, people do tend to get emotional about their drinking water, their Continue reading →

FDEP silently issued Sabal Trail permit and easement 2016-021-22

Despite being on FDEP’s permit announcement list, I never got anything about a Sabal Trail permit. Sabal-trail-23.3 35146.1-0001 After much digging, the other day I found that FDEP went ahead and issued the Sabal Trail permit 22 January 2016 (PDF), conveniently before FERC issued certificates 2 February 2016.

That FDEP permit was also before the appeal deadline of 15 February 2016 in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP. They did not copy the petitioner in that case, namely WWALS. They did copy Audubon Florida, which, as you may recall back in October sent FERC a letter supporting Sabal Trail (and then tried to walk back part of it). A letter that EPA chose to mention by name to the Army Corps of Engineers, while not naming Sierra Club or WWALS in opposition. Apparently if you go along with FDEP you get preferential notification.

And that, that’s nothing. FDEP issued Continue reading →

Conversations with Noah Valenstein, E.D., SRWMD in Columbia County 2016-02-04

It’s not for shipping water to Jacksonville, it’s not much changed from last year, no money is allocated for it yet, and people should get involved in the process, said Noah Valenstein, the new Executive Director of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD), in answer to questions from Jim Tatum and Merillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) and me about the Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge Project at the Columbia County Commission meeting last Thursday, 4 February 2016. Plus Sabal Trail, Amtrak and that chicken farm.

Movie: Noah Valenstein, E.D., SRWMD (6.9M)

Valenstein answered Jim during the Commission meeting. See also Jim’s report for OSFR. I stayed afterwards and had a longer discussion with Valenstein. Some notes from memory: Continue reading →

Skipper Bridge, 17.66 feet, flood level 15 feet

The water level continued up from yesterday, when it was Downstream 31.0116939, -83.2915878 17.66 feet on the USGS guage at Skipper Bridge in Lowndes County, Georgia at 9:46 AM when I took these pictures. Flood stage is 15 feet. It was so high you could have floated over the chain link fence the county put in when it replaced the bridge, thus preventing normal use of this bridge as a Withlacoochee River access point on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

-jsq

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

Downstream panorama 30.9016667, 83.2930556

Continue reading →

Noah Valenstein, SRWMD E.D. @ Columbia County, FL Commission

He answered a few questions about Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge.

See Questions to SRWMD Director for context. More detail to come.

-jsq

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

Questions to SRWMD Director at Columbia County Commission –Columbia County News 2016-02-04

The Columbia County News has made it easier to ask questions, especially about a very expensive river and aquifer project.

When: 5:30 PM Thursday 4 February 2016

Where: Columbia BOCC
372 West Duval Street
Lake City, Florida

What: Why is the SRMD board going to vote next week on sucking up Suwannee River water through a 48″ pipe to Falling Creek Park in an Aquifer Recharge scheme?

Stew Lilker, Columbia County News, 3 February 2016, Suwannee River Water Management Chief at the County 5 Thursday Night: Questions Accepted,

It has been said that fresh clean water is Continue reading →

On Columbia County agenda 2016-02-04? Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge

Why is the SRWMD Executive Director on the Columbia County agenda a few days before the SRWMD board meeting with the Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge project?

Under “Presentation of Ministerial Matters Not Requiring Public Comment”, on the February 4th agenda for the Columbia Board of County Commissioners:

Noah Valenstein, Executive Director, Suwannee River Water Management District

   (1) Introduction

Introduction of what? Of the Continue reading →

Aquifer Storage and Recharge at SRWMD 2016-02-09

Update 2023-01-31: Fixed image links that broke when the reference documents vanished from the web.

Public Hearing about the $48 million Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge project and its 48-inch 11-mile pipeline, and several others also involving the upper Suwannee River, 9AM Tuesday, February 9th, 2016, at SRWMD headquarters in Live Oak. Wouldn’t limiting withdrawals make more sense? And why is this the only project listed that’s joint with the St Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), and why is drawdown from Jacksonville prominently featured in slides about why this project?

[Project Location and Potential Pipeline Alignment]
Project Location and Potential Pipeline Alignment

On the SRWMD front page under CALENDAR, Continue reading →