Thrice rescheduled because of water levels and weather, the Dead River Sink Hike drew a small but attentive crowd to listen to Practicing Geologist Dennis Price and see the Dead River Confluence, the Dead River, and the Dead River Sink, with cypress, tupelo, oaks, pines, and beautyberry along the way, on a warm November day.
![[Jennings Bluff Landing, Dead River Confluence, Dead River Sink, Banners]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-11-07--dead-river-sink-pictures/many.jpg)
Jennings Bluff Landing, Dead River Confluence, Dead River Sink, Banners
The public is invited to the Quarterly Meeting of the WWALS Board, where we will be discussing the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle, BIG Little River Paddle Race, Songwriting Contest, cleanups, outings, water quality testing, opposition to mines, water withdrawals, coal ash, and wood pellet plants, promotion of solar power, water trails, and Troupville River Camp, and of course finances.
We will be meeting online by zoom, so you don’t even have to go anywhere.
When: 8-10 AM, Sunday, January 9, 2022
Where:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89308028204?pwd=VmwyMzVTMVR6WGJxbUFUSlFXWFRWQT09
ZOOM Meeting ID: 893 0802 8204 Password: 392346
One tap mobile: +19294362866,,89308028204#,,,,,,0#,,392346#
Dial In: +1 929 436 2866 Meeting ID: 893 0802 8204 Meeting Password: 392346
Event: facebook
Agenda: Please have a copy of the Agenda so you can follow along.
WWALS advocates for the entire 10,000 square mile Suwannee River Basin, in Georgia and Florida, including the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Little times two, New times two, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers, and all their creeks, springs, sinks, ponds, and swamps, such as Grand Bay, Banks Lake and the Okefenokee Swamp.
Much of the work of WWALS is done by committees of members, and many of them have some good results to report. If you’d like to join a committee, please fill out the application.
![[WWALS Logo]](/pictures/2019-11-21--wwals-logo-santa-fe/WWALS-Logo-Reworded-0001.jpg){kind=logo}
The board itself does most of its business online via email, but it’s good to have these gatherings once a quarter.
The current board members, officers, and staff are listed on the Board web page. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-14: Bad US 84 Wednesday, good Withlacoochee River Thursday 2022-01-13.
Water quality is not looking good upstream on the Little or Withlacoochee Rivers. But not much sign of contamination downstream Thursday. I’d avoid those rivers upstream for a few days.
Downstream, chances are the E. coli will get diluted before it reaches the state line. But of course we can only go by the test results we have. I would paddle downstream this weekend, but you have to make your own decisions.
WWALS tester Elizabeth Brunner got too-high results at Folsom Bridge on the Little River and Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River, both on GA 122. There was much rain upstream Sunday at Sylvester and Moultrie, and probably Tifton, so what Elizabeth found may have washed down from far upstream.
Ashburn had a 40,000 gallon sewage spill Monday, which showed up today in the daily GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Ashburn spill went into Hat Creek, which runs into the Alapaha River. Elizabeth’s third GA 122 test site, Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River, was OK. This is not unusual: Ashburn is so far upstream we’ve never detected effects of one of its spills downstream.
Valdosta got a bad result at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River for Monday. That could have been something washing downstream, or it could be the notorious suspected dumper. All three of US 41, GA 133, and US 84 tested OK for Wednesday.
WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach got OK results at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps for Thursday.
And WWALS tester Gus Cleary got OK for Cleary Bluff, downstream of Allen Ramp, for Wednesday. Continue reading
Join us for our first 2022 leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, just west of Lakeland, Georgia.
When: Gather 5 PM, launch 5:30 PM, moonrise 5:41 PM, sunset 5:55 PM, end 7:30 PM, Monday, January 17, 2022
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.
Safety: Each person in a boat, no matter how young or old, must wear a PFD. You must have a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow sticks work well, or head lamp, flashlight, etc.) so other boaters can see you in the dark. It will be totally dark after sunset. A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark.
Boats:
Bring your own if you have it.
Thanks to Banks Lake Outdoors for free boat rental for these WWALS Full Moon Paddles.
Please ask for boats at least 2 days prior to the event:
on the web form on
https://wwals.net/outings,
or on the facebook event, the meetup,
or call 850-290-2350.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
![[Sunset big sky]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-18--banks-lake-full-cold-moon-pictures/20211218_173257.jpg)
Sunset big sky. Photo: John S. Quarterman, 2021-12-18.
Update 2022-02-02: Sprawl in an aquifer recharge zone back on the Lowndes County Commission agenda 2022-02-08.
Update 2022-01-09: Cancelled: Lowndes County Commission Meetings 2022-01-10, so expect expect the contentious Miller Bridge Road subdivision that was withdrawn last time to be back with larger lot sizes at the January 24 and 25 Commission meetings.
The subdivision WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman spoke against at the November Planning Commission meeting was withdrawn before the December Lowndes County Commission meeting.
![[Lowndes County Commission, Rezoning withdrawn temporarily, Aquifer recharge zone]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-14--miller-bridge-road-withdrawn/many.jpg)
Lowndes County Commission, Rezoning withdrawn temporarily, Aquifer recharge zone
But the withdrawal letter said they would be back with a new plan by January 5th. The subject property near the Little River is still in an aquifer recharge zone, and far outside any appropriate Character Area in the Comprehensive Plan. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-07: Bad upstream Withlacoochee, Little Rivers, Ashburn Spill Alapaha River 2022-01-06.
Better than last week. Michael and Jacob Bachrach spotted one blob of E. coli at Nankin Boat Ramp, but not at Knights Ferry or State Line on the Withlacoochee River. Gus Cleary tested both Sunday and Wednesday at Cleary Bluff downstream from Allen Ramp, and his results are very good. Elizabeth Brunner saw slightly elevated numbers at GA 122 on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers, but all within bounds.
More rain fell since all these tests, and more is expected, so there could be more contamination. Meanwhile, no new sewage spills have been reported.
So far, I’d risk it, if I was wanting to boat on the Withlacoochee River this weekend. Here’s the data, so you can make your own decisions.
Happy New Year, and thanks to the WWALS testers for testing on this holiday weekend.
Thursday’s rain was quite spotty. The only two gauges we follow that got more than half an inch were in Moultrie upstream on Okapilco Creek, and at Folsom Bridge on the Little River between Barney and Adel. Continue reading
Update 2023-01-26: Pictures: Many deadfalls, shark teeth, and rapids: Alapachoochee Adventure 2022-07-09.
Bird Chamberlain and others had been suggesting it for years, and we finally did it: the Alapahoochee River from GA 135 to Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River. We paddled over many deadfalls, across the GA-FL line, past the creek of shark teeth, under old abandoned steel Beatty Bridge, through Devil Shoal, right by Turket Creek Waterfall.
![[Banners, Alapahoochee River, Deadfall, Beatty Bridge, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek Waterfall]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-06-05--alapahoochee-pictures/2021-06-05--many.jpg)
Banners, Alapahoochee River, Deadfall, Beatty Bridge, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek Waterfall
Many thanks to Bobby McKenzie for organizing this expedition, to the WWALS Outings Committee for planning it, and to all who paddled, including Suzanne Welander, author of Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, who came down from Atlanta for this outing. Continue reading
Update 2021-12-31: Mostly good, Withlacoochee River 2021-12-30.
Not looking good. The recent rains washed E. coli into the Withlacoochee River, starting way upstream at Hagan Bridge on GA 122 on Thursday, down through US 41, GA 133, and US 84 on Wednesday. We did not see it at Cleary Bluff for Wednesday, downstream from Allen Ramp. Maybe it’s gotten diluted before it got that far. Or maybe it just hadn’t gotten that far by Wednesday.
I’d stay off the Withlacoochee River this weekend.
We almost never see high numbers at Hagan Bridge, but that’s what Elizabeth Brunner got for Thursday.
Valdosta results were bad for US 41 for last Friday, even before the rain, much worse there and for GA 133 for Monday after the rain, and bad for all three of US 41, GA 133, and US 84 for Wednesday. Apparently the contamination is traveling downstream.
There have been no sewage spills reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. Most likely the E. coli came from cows or horses near the river or its creeks: there are quite a few of those even upstream of Hagan Bridge. Plus possibly wild hogs. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-10: Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River –Shirley Kokidko 2022-01-07.
Update 2021-12-28: KUR: M2 Blue cave system, Madison County, Florida.
Where exactly does Withlacoochee River water run into this creek, about three hundred feet into the woods, and disappear into a sinkhole? Left (east) bank, which is state land, or right (west) bank, which is private land? If it doesn’t have an observation platform, where is the one pictured? Maybe you can help us resolve this mystery.
One thing is clear: do not paddle into this distributary! When the river is high, the current is high, and you will have a hard time gettin back out. There are deadfalls and a sinkhole at the end.
Here’s where this mystery started:
“Some 7 miles downriver from CR 150, there is a 10- to 12-foot opening in the high banks on the east side where water comes rushing out of the river. If followed, this stream flows for 75 to 100 yards and then disappears under a high bank. In Florida, whole rivers disappear in this manner, but it is unusual to lose just part of a river.”
That’s from Canoeing & Kayaking Florida, Menasha Ridge Press; 2nd edition (November 11, 2007), by Johnny Molloy, Elizabeth F. Carter et al., Page 122, Georgia State Line to Suwannee River S.P. Hm, I see there’s now a third edition of November 11, 2016.
Helen Crowley says she and Shirley Kokidko and Don Crowley paddled past there on January 1, 2021. She sent this picture as of the distributary. Continue reading
FPL profits from deploying utilty-scale solar fields, but its executives and shareholders do not profit by home and business solar panels reducing need to generate power and reducing purchases of expensive mid-day electricity. So FPL opposes rooftop solar while bragging about being a world leader in solar energy.
FPL is regulated as a public utility, so you can demand the Florida legislature stop this bad bill. How about some solar financing instead?
![[Rooftop vs. utilty-scale solar]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-20--fpl-rooftop-solar/many.jpg)
Rooftop vs. utilty-scale solar
Mary Ellen Klas for the Miami Herald and Mario Alejandro Ariza for Floodlight, 20 December 2021, Revealed: the Florida power company pushing legislation to slow rooftop solar; Florida Power & Light delivered bill text to a state lawmaker. Its parent company sent $10,000 to her campaign coffers,
The biggest power company in the US is pushing policy changes that would hamstring rooftop solar power in Florida, delivering legislation for a state lawmaker to introduce, according to records obtained by the Miami Herald and Floodlight.
Continue reading
![[When, Where, Who]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-01-09--wwals-board/2022-01-09--wwals-quarterly-board-meeting-agenda-no-reports-0001.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-01-06--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-30--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-12-23--wq/2021-12-23--many.jpg)
![[Platform, Distributary]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-01-01--withlacoochee-distributary/many.jpg)