Tag Archives: Quantity

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas –Ichetucknee Alliance to FERC

Filed with FERC 17 December 2013 and on the Ichetucknee Alliance facebook group:

Lucinda F Merritt, Fort White, FL.
The Ichetucknee Alliance (http:// ichetucknee alliance.org) opposes placement of any new natural gas pipelines under, over or through the 5.5-mile long Ichetucknee River, including the area of Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the area of Columbia County that is included in the historic riverbed (the Ichetucknee Trace), and any part of the Ichetucknee Springshed.

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas for the following reasons.

The river and springs, including Ichetucknee Springs State Park, are Continue reading →

Entering the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone –Kristofer Graham

Written as a newspaper letter to the editor and posted here with permission. -jsq

Dear Residents
Did you know Lanier County doesn’t have zoning laws. Which that mean they can development on wetlands and on our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and build resident houses, subdivided, commercial building etc., cut timber on wetlands, on our watersheds and a Natural Gas Company want to put a pipeline through on these precious lands they can. It will destroy the land environment like our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone (aka our drinking water) and our wetlands and our watersheds. Because it not protected like it should.
Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone. It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there forever.
I notices they got those lands zone as Ag and V5 zone. Which those zone doesn’t protect it and in fact it can destroy those lands Eco system because they spray pesticide for there farm crops near the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and wetlands, our watersheds. It will Continue reading →

WWALS files as intervenor to oppose the Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipeline

Approved by the WWALS Board 13 November 2013. PDF.

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
18 October 2013

To:
Secretary Sarah McKinley
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street N.E
Washington, DC 20426

Re: Pre-filing Docket PF14-1 Sabal Trail Transmission

Cc:
Georgia Public Service Commission
Florida Public Service Commission

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. opposes the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipeline that would cut a 100 foot wide gash across our Withlacoochee River and through many wetlands in south Georgia and north Florida, including recharge zones for the Floridan Aquifer that provides our drinking water.

Sabal’s parent company, Spectra Energy, has a safety record that gives no comfort Continue reading →

Videos: Aquifers, sinkholes, and groundscans –Prof. Don Thieme

We had to move to a larger room, so many attended this groundwater talk at VSU (about 90). Plus a guest appearance by SAVE.

Here are Dr. Donald M. Thieme‘s slides in PDF, with his longer title:

Coastal Plain Surficial Deposits, Groundwater Resources, and Recent Subsidence in south Georgia

While we are lucky to have abundant groundwater, both from the Upper Floridan Aquifer 100 feet below us trapped in Eocene limestones and from shallow groundwater with its karst features, nonetheless overpumping has caused falls in the level of the aquifer (about 0.6 feet a year at Valdosta), resulting in rapid loss of shallow groundwater, plus surface water that enters and often contaminates the aquifer through those karst features.

Sometimes those karst features subside and manifest as sinkholes like the one that ate Snake Nation Road in Lowndes County and others that can develop slow (many years) or fast (weeks or minutes).

There were also many questions, starting with what water do personal wells reach? Also including a brief history of Valdosta well drilling from artesian to hundreds of feet down, and a sinkhole in a garage in Lowndes County, should local governments require sinkhole insurance (including mention of Moody AFB subsidence and Florida citrus growers pumping so much water it causes sinkholes). I also introduced the WWALS board members present: Gretchen Quarterman (Treasurer and videoing), Bret Wagenhorst (Outings), Heather Brasell (Secretary), Dave Hetzel (President), April Huntley (Director), me (Vice President), and Chris Graham (Member); plus a brief summary of WWALS events and outings. Here’s a video playlist:

Continue reading →

WWALS supports S.A.V.E.’s fossil fuel divestment request to VSU

Approved by the WWALS Board by email 17 October 2013.

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
18 October 2013

To:
Mr. John Crawford
Vice President for Advancement
and Trustee
jdcrawford@valdosta.edu
VSU Foundation
and Board of Trustees
1500 N. Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA 31698

WWALS Watershed Coalition, a nonprofit group working for conservation of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River Systems, supports the fossil fuel divestment request of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.).

In addition to the points made by S.A.V.E., WWALS would like to add that oil and gas leaks run downhill in our watersheds, fracking for natural gas pollutes groundwater, and fossil fuel energy plants use massive amounts of water that could go for agriculture or drinking. Divestment from fossil fuels by VSU by itself won’t stop leaks or end fracking or shut down coal plants. But it will send a clear signal that our regional state university is leading the shift from fossil fuels to renewable solar and wind power with efficiency and conservation.

Fracking may seem distant, but right now there is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Alabama to Florida that threatens Georgia’s environment and Georgians’ property rights. We don’t want an exploding pipeline like just happened in Oklahoma.

Perhaps like Harvard President Drew Faust some don’t want to get academic VSU involved in politics. But all our investments are political, and there’s nothing neutral about funding climate wreckage. As S.A.V.E. put it in their letter:
Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Conference, Tifton, GA, 24 August 2013

How we manage water affects our water’s quality and quantity. WWALS Watershed Coalition is pleased to announce a Water Conference where Gordon Rogers, Flint Riverkeeper will share information on hydrology of the South Georgia region and Neill Herring, Environmental Lobbyist, will discuss upcoming legislation that can affect our watersheds and aquifer. The conference will take place in Tifton on Saturday, August 24, 2013 from 9:00 am until noon at the NESPAL, University of Georgia, Tifton Campus at 2360 Rainwater Road.

Continue reading →

Request participation in watershed planning –WWALS to Corps

Unanimously approved 10 July 2013 by the WWALS board (PDF).

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
www.wwals.net
10 July 2013
To:
Jeffrey S Morris
Savannah District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
100 W Oglethorpe Ave
Savannah, GA 31401
Jeffrey.S.Morris@usace.army.mil
Cc:
Mayor John Gayle
City of Valdosta
P.O. Box 1125
216 E. Central Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31603-1125
jgayle@valdostacity.com
Greetings from the pocosin swamps and blackwater river floodplains of central south Georgia! Continue reading →

Solar passed GA PSC!

We (the people) won!

WWALS helped by writing a letter to GA PSC, reading it to them, and asking Commissioner Everett to vote for it. He did, and Georgia Power is now required to buy more than twice as much solar power. Details here.

-jsq

GA PSC solar decision tomorrow (July 11th)

Folks,

Tomorrow the PSC decides on requiring Georgia Power to add more solar power. The swing vote is H. Doug Everett, Commissioner for District 1, which includes all of our watersheds. He went to high school in Sylvester, which is in the Little River watershed, and he is on the board of the Georgia Agrirama Development Authority. You can contact him through the above web page, or call him at his PSC office: (800) 282-5813.

You probably remember last month the WWALS board sent a letter to the Georgia Public Service Commission asking for more solar and wind and less water-sucking baseload power plants. Garry Gentry read the letter to the PSC. More background here.

Here’s your chance to help make more solar happen for Georgia.

-jsq

Agricultural runoff

The Southern Georgia Regional Commission invites you to contact them about agricultural runoff. WWALS is concerned with how industrial farming and clear cutting affects both water quality and quantity in our watershed.

The pictured example of runoff from a cotton field was in Berrien County yesterday. While rain was pouring down, it ran half way across the road, and two cars wrecked. Once it gets across the road, either over it or through the culvert, it runs into the Withlacoochee River. As Pesticide Action Network reminds us, “Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop.”

Abbie Fentress Swanson wrote for GPB 6 July 2013, What Is Farm Runoff Doing To The Water? Scientists Wade In,

Agriculture is the nation’s leading cause of impaired water quality, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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