Tag Archives: SRWMD

Presto, there’s plenty of water in Florida? –Jim Gross @ WiLFest 2017-06-17

Jim Gross showed at WiLFest in Orlando Gainesville what he described later in the Orlando Sentinel:

“It was known by everyone in the agency that we had more demand than groundwater. Did the science completely change overnight? Now, ‘Presto! There’s plenty?’”

Discharge 1980 and 2010 from the Upper Floridan Aquifer
Jim Gross showing central Florida as far over sustainable withdrawals at WiLFest in Orlando Gainesville 2017-06-17
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS

Lauren Ritchie, Orlando Sentinel, 30 June 2017, Commentary: Stop letting developments such as The Villages suck up water, Continue reading

Video: Pilgrim’s Pride effluent pipe directly into Suwannee River

With the Suwannee River low, you can see the effluent coming out of the pipe west of Live Oak, FL. Pilgrim’s Pride just rejected a shareholder resolution to curb water pollution from its operations. And Aviagen is opening a chicken breeding operation in Brooks County, GA, in the watershed of the Withlacoochee River, upstream of the Suwannee.


Pilgrim's Pride, Proud to Dump into Suwannee River? from Merrillee on Vimeo.
“Pilgrim’s Pride discharges over 2 million gallons a day of liquid poultry wastes in the Suwannee River from a meat rendering facility located north of Live Oak, FL.”

Thanks to Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Sierra Club for .this video, which she showed me, along with many pictures, when she was in Valdosta for the VDT interview with Randy Dowdy about Sabal Trail destroying his farmland.

I asked Merrillee whether Continue reading

BMAPs: Agriculture and water at the Suwannee River Basin crossroads 2017-04-13

The conclusion from FDEP in their BMAP presented to an almost-full SRWMD boardroom on April 13, 2017 was: nitrogen runoff into springs and rivers from all sources (the biggest being agriculture, dairies, and poultry) must decrease 83 to 93 percent. For once nobody seemed to argue with research by state agencies. Rather everyone, from representatives of the biggest of farmers to Pilgrim’s Pride to a wide variety of environmental groups seemed aghast at the severity of the situation.

Title slide

This Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) for the Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin turns out to include the Withlacoochee River almost to the Georgia line, because Continue reading

Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) Meeting 2017-04-13

Today in Live Oak: what FDEP is doing about water quality and quantity in the Suwannee Basin below the Withlacoochee Confluence. Agenda

See the PDF or the transcription below.

Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) Meeting

DATE: Thursday, April 13, 2017
TIME: 6:00 PM
PLACE: Suwannee River Water Management District
Board Room
9225 CR 49
Live Oak, FL 32060

THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

AGENDA Continue reading

Other aquifer models don’t work for karst Floridan Aquifer –Geology Prof. Can Denizman to Suwannee River Partnership 2017-03-03

Someone said there’s an actual scientist in the room, so let’s hear from him. So WWALS Science Committee member Geology Professor Can Denizman said a few words about modeling karst limestone aquifers such as the Floridan Aquifer. This was at the March 3, 2017 meeting of the new Environmental Advisory Work Group of the Suwannee River Partnership.

Geology Prof. Can Denizman, VSU, WWALS Science Committee

Here’s video followed by a transcript: Continue reading

Springsheds and Water Withdrawal Permits in the Suwannee River Basin

This figure for Florida water withdrawal permits in the Suwannee River springsheds shows by far the largest blue dots for the biggest withdrawal permits in Hamilton County at the location of the PCS Phosphate mine.

Fig. 4: Principal springsheds (red lines) + consumptive use permits (dots sized by withdrawal rate), Florida portion of Suwannee River springshed.

Fig. 4: Principal springsheds (red lines) + consumptive use permits (dots sized by withdrawal rate), Florida portion of Suwannee River springshed.

Thanks to Continue reading

St Johns Riverkeeper, Suwannee Riverkeeper

In Alachua, 2017 01 17: Lisa Rinaman, St Johns Riverkeeper, and John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper.

This was after SRWMD and SJRWMD passed the NFRWSP. Videos here of what we and many others said before the vote in that joint board meeting.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

FL House Rep. Elizabeth Porter asks EPA to Valdosta wastewater

There’s been an outcry for the EPA to intervene, from people downstream of Valdosta on the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers. Representing Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, and Baker Counties in the Florida statehouse, FL Rep. Elizabeth Porter [R-10] has taken up that cry.

In the current political climate of the EPA being downsized after it already was underfunded, Continue reading

Valdosta attempts to come clean about sewage, and how you can help

People keep asking me what can be done to prevent this from happening again? Valdosta has already built an entirely new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill out of the flood plain, and a force main to reroute sewage around most of the manholes that previously were leaking: see their extensive writeups on those and other improvements. This recent event was due to equipment failure at the new WWTP, and they have the contractors out there redoing that under warranty.

What can you do? Continue reading

SRWMD says FDEP has confirmed river contamination possibly from Valdosta sewage 2017-01-26

Enteric bacteria have been confirmed in the Withlacoochee River, and in the Suwannee River downstream of the confluence, USGS Streamer say SRWMD and FDEP, while there’s still no update on the City of Valdosta website about the 2.2 million gallons of sewage Valdosta leaked into the Withlacoochee River and didn’t tell the public about for two days.

Valdosta wasn’t the only city to spill into the Withlacoochee during the recent storms. Tifton did, too, but Valdosta’s spill was more than 230 times bigger than Tifton’s. And city sewage is not the only source of contamination in the rivers: wildlife, agricultural animals, and septic tanks add to it. Baseline monitoring would help disentangle which is which. But nobody is going to believe this contamination this time came from any place but Valdosta.

SRWMD, News Flash, 2017-01-26 (no time given), Health Officials Confirm Wastewater Contamination In The Withlacoochee And Suwannee Rivers,

Madison, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health in Hamilton, Madison and Suwannee today issued a joint health advisory extending the previous advisory for the Withlacoochee River to include a portion of the Suwannee River. The health advisory is now in effect for residents and visitors on the Withlachoochee River and on a portion of the Suwannee River from the point where the two rivers meet, downstream along the border of Madison and Suwannee County to the Lafayette County line just above Dowling Park. The river waters are not safe for contact during recreational use at this time.

Test results from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection water sampling in the area have confirmed high levels of enteric bacteria possibly due to a large spill of untreated sewage reported by the City of Valdosta, Georgia.

People are urged to avoid contact with water in the Withlacoochee River and the impacted areas of the Suwannee River. Water contaminated with wastewater overflow presents several health risks to humans. Untreated human sewage with microbes can cause gastrointestinal issues, disease, infections or rashes.

Anyone who comes in contact with the river water should wash thoroughly, especially hands, and before eating and drinking. Children and older adults, as well as people with weakened immune systems, are particularly vulnerable to disease so every precaution should be taken to avoid contact with river water.

Additional sampling will take place to determine when the river water is safe for recreational use.

Individuals with questions about the spillage should contact Valdosta Environmental Manager Scott Fowler at 229-259-3592 or by email at sfowler@valdostacity.com.

Individual with questions for Florida DEP should contact wastewater coordinator Jim Mayer at the NE District office in Jacksonville at 904-256-1700.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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