Tag Archives: Santa Fe River

Add Santa Fe River to Suwannee Riverkeeper territory 2019-07-17

Back in 2019, after one final calibration with Our Santa Fe River, WWALS asked WATERKEEPR® Alliance to add the Santa Fe River Basin to the territory of Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®. They approved that request on September 26, 2019. Since then, Suwannee Riverkeeper territory has included the entire Suwannee River Basin and Estuary.

[Request letter and expanded territory approved 2019-09-26]
Request letter and expanded territory approved 2019-09-26

Apparently we never published this addition, and lately we’ve needed to refer to it. So here is the request that WKA approved. Plus a current map of the entire Basin and Estuary. Continue reading →

Good river water quality 2022-09-01

Update 2022-09-09: Tifton sewage spill, Little River 2022-09-04.

All WWALS water quality results for Thursday came in below the one-time test limit of 410 cfu/100 mL. There has been rain, but not as much as it usually takes to wash significant contamination into the rivers. More rain is predicted for the next week, but no more than what we’ve seen this week.

Ashburn got around to reporting two sewage spills this week, but those are both old and on Hat Creek, far upstream from the top of the Alapaha River Water Trail, so probably they did not have much effect on that river.

Starke reported a sewage spill from two manholes, but it was small and not near a waterbody, so it probably had no effect on the Santa Fe River.

So by what we know today, happy swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend. Conditions could change rapidly, of course.

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

Thanks to Continue reading →

Good water quality, Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers 2022-08-12

Pam Thomas and the WWALS testers at TREPO got very good water quality results for Friday on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers.

[Chart, Rivers, Map]
Chart, Rivers, Map

They tested two Ichetucknee River locations and one on the Santa Fe, all private parks owned by Three Rivers Estates Property Owners (TREPO). Continue reading →

Training: Water Quality Testing, 2022-09-10

You can learn how to help test water quality in the Suwannee River Basin.

WWALS testing trainer Gretchen Quarterman will do the classroom portion of the course by zoom, followed by hands-on practical training at a waterway with physical distancing. This is both Chemical and Bacterial training by Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) methods.

Yes, we can and do use this in Florida as well as Georgia.

[Map and table, Georgia AAS]
Map and table, Georgia AAS

We currently have testers on the Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers.

We need more of those, and also for the Alapahoochee and Suwannee Rivers, as well as Cat Creek, Beatty Branch, Sugar Creek, and especially Okapilco Creek and Crooked Creek, plus others.

For more, see: https://wwals.net/testing/

Sign up: https://forms.gle/37DawiGAJYoyqtPKA Continue reading →

High Springs 500-gallon sewage spill, mostly cleaned up 2022-07-07

Update 2022-07-29: Good Water Quality, Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha Rivers 2022-07-28.

Well, I missed this one. FDEP says it was reported on July 7th, but it wasn’t in their 30-day map last time I looked, so I’m not sure when it showed up.

[FDEP report, aerial, WWALS map]
FDEP report, aerial, WWALS map

At only 500 gallons, 200 of that recovered, it probably didn’t have much effect on the Santa Fe River or its springs.

The address given seems to be a typo. The real address appears to be Continue reading →

Five Rivers Clean 2022-07-07

Update 2022-07-15: Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14.

According to ten WWALS Thursday test sites on five rivers, and Madison Health lifting their Withlacoochee River Health Advisory, five rivers tested clean Thursday.

There was substantial rain yesterday, but since previous rains probably washed off the worst stuff, most likely there won’t be much effect on the rivers.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

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

The most recent Valdosta data Continue reading →

Five Rivers Clean 2022-06-09

2022-06-17: WWALS Thursday tests clean, but Valdosta bad Wednesday results for US 41 and GA 122, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-16.

All tested clean: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers, for Thursday. Sure, those were only a few test sites on each river. But there’s been little rain, none predicted, and no sewage spills reported. So happy swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide]
Chart, River, Swim Guide

Thanks to Continue reading →

Clean All Rivers 2022-05-26

Update 2022-06-03: Clean Rivers 2022-06-02.

All tested sites Thursday were clean on five rivers: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers. No sewage spills have been reported in Georgia or Florida in the Suwannee River Basin for the last week. It hasn’t rained much, and no rain is predicted for the weekend.

So happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

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

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday upstream and Wednesday of last week downstream. Those were all clean, too. Continue reading →

Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, Santa Fe all clean 2022-05-12

Update 2022-05-20: Clean Rivers again 2022-05-19.

WWALS got good results on five rivers from samples Thursday. No significant rain is predicted. No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. So happy swimming, boating, and fishing on the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers!

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

These samples are of course only from a few locations, so they cannot give the condition of the entire rivers. Still, they’re a pretty good indication.

The only red thumb sticking out is at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, where for Monday Valdosta got way too high E. coli. Since there was no rain recorded upstream, that looks like the old problem of somebody dumping something in the river. Probably it has washed away and gotten diluted by now. But we have no more recent tests at that location to tell. Some time next week Valdosta will publish the rest of their results for this week, and then we’ll know. Continue reading →

Videos: Florida Right to Clean Water, Poe Springs Park 2022-04-21

Update 2022-05-01: Florida petition online now for Right to Clean and Healthy Waters 2022-05-01.

Five of us spoke about the new Florida Right to Clean and Healthy Waters (RTCW) statewide petition for a constitutional amendment. We said saying extraordinary problems demand extraordinary solutions, water supports everything, RTCW is needed like the First Amendment, flow and nitrates in the Santa Fe River and springs need RTCW, and drinking water needs RTCW.

[RTCW, Poe Springs]
RTCW, Poe Springs

That press conference at Poe Springs Park on the Santa Fe River was covered by CBS4 News out of Gainesville. Here is the TV news story, WWALS video of the speakers, and the full text of the petition amendment.

TV News

Julianne Amaya, CBS4, Gainesville, Florida, Thursday, April 21, 2022, Petition calls for ‘rights to clean and healthy waters’ in Florida, Continue reading →