Tag Archives: Suwannee River

Clean Alapaha River 2024-10-13

Update 2024-10-18: Clean rivers, dirty Franks Creek 2024-10-17.

WWALS tester Heather Brasell got good water quality for Sunday at two upstream Alapaha River locations.

Valdosta posted, better late than never, its Wednesday results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84, and they were good.

There has been no rain for almost a week, and none is predicted for the next ten days.

The upper and lower Santa Fe River, the lower Suwannee River, and the Alapaha River at Statenville are still in Action Stage (or flood for the Santa Fe at TREPO).

Beware that many parks and public access points are still closed. Avoid getting in the way of ongoing recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Other than that, happy paddling, motoring, fishing, and swimming this week and the coming weekend.

[Clean Alapaha River and no rain 2024-10-16 Valdosta results corroborate clean Withlacoochee River]
Clean Alapaha River and no rain 2024-10-16 Valdosta results corroborate clean Withlacoochee River

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) updates its Sewage Spills Report on weekdays, and the same for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)’s Public Notice of Pollution (PNP), and neither have reported any new sewage spills since Friday. Continue reading →

Videos: Rachel Grubb, Lake City, FL, First Prize, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024-09-07

Back again after several years, Rachel Grubb came from Lake City, Florida, with her song, Cruising Down the Suwannee, and won not only Best Americana Indie-Folk Song, but also First Prize, in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024.

She got plaques for both, and a $300 check for First Prize.

[Rachel Grubb, Lake City, FL, 2024-09-07, Best Americana Indie-Folk Song, First Prize: Cruising Down the Suwannee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest]
Rachel Grubb, Lake City, FL, 2024-09-07, Best Americana Indie-Folk Song, First Prize: Cruising Down the Suwannee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Here are videos of her song and her awards:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwHgcxLdwOzUQNJDAj4zEi3&si=S6_kNrttvtPm5nd3 Continue reading →

Audio: GA House Navigable Streams Committee postponed –Suwannee Riverkeeper on WKUB radio 2024-10-10

An old Civil War law in the way of paddling, motoring, fishing, and swimming, on WKUB radio from Blackshear, Pierce County, Georgia, starting at 1:10 in the audio:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2024-10-10–wkub-navigable/2000-thurs-am-news.mp3

A meeting of the Georgia House Navigable Streams Committee scheduled for Friday in Nahunta has been postponed due to the anticipated effects from Hurricane Milton.

It was set to take place at Strickland’s Lodge on the Satilla River in Nahunta.

[Georgia House Navigable Streams Committee Postponed 2024-10-10 -- Suwannee Riverkeeper on WKUB radio]
Georgia House Navigable Streams Committee Postponed 2024-10-10 — Suwannee Riverkeeper on WKUB radio

That committee is currently taking public comment on the legislative efforts to name sections of some of the state’s 64 streams and rivers as navigable and open to the public for boating, fishing, and hunting.

Right now an old Civil War law prohibits a lot of that from happening.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John Quarterman, who was eager to see changes in the present laws, says that postponing the meeting was the right thing to do.

jsq: …which is all sensible, I think. I had thought of asking them, could you, at least, delay this? Because I’ve been asking county commission members and city council members, and naturally they’ve been telling me they’re kind of busy with still doing cleanup, and so this is a good thing, I think.

Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River, but some stretches flooding, and more rains coming 2024-10-06

Update 2024-10-12: Apparently clean Withlacoochee River 2024-10-10.

WWALS tester Russ Tatum got very good water quality for Friday at Holly Point, on the Withlacoochee River downstream of Allen Ramp, near the Suwannee River.

That matches what Valdosta got for Wednesday at GA 133 and US 84.
https://wwals.net/?p=65999

Even though rainwater from Hurricane Helene has apparently diluted or washed downstream any contamination that washed in, this is not a good weekend or week for boating.

Flooding is still rising downstream on the Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers; see below.

The weather report has changed. Upstream, it’s spotty rain today (Sunday) and Wednesday. Downstream, it’s rain all week, due to incoming Hurricane Milton, expected to make landfall near Tampa Wednesday or Thursday.

Many national, state, and local parks are still closed after Hurricane Helene, especially on rivers.
https://wwals.net/?p=65987

Afterward the new Hurricane Milton, there will be plenty of more opportunities for pleasant paddles and chainsaw cleanups.

[Clean Withlacoochee River, but downstream Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers rivers flooding from Hurricane Helene, and more rains coming from Hurricane Milton.]
Clean Withlacoochee River, but downstream Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers rivers flooding from Hurricane Helene, and more rains coming from Hurricane Milton.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) updates its Sewage Spills Report on weekdays, and the same for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)’s Public Notice of Pollution (PNP), so if there have been any new sewage spills since Friday, we don’t know about them. Continue reading →

What parks are closed? 2024-10-03

Many national, state, and local parks and related facilities are closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. Some were already closed due to Hurricane Debby.

Assume it’s closed unless you have other information.

[What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.]
What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.
Pictured: damage at Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. Photo: SFCSSP

Georgia

Many parks are closed all over Georgia. Here we list only the ones in or near the Suwannee River Basin.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Continue reading →

Are the rivers rising? 2024-10-01

Somebody asked: has the Suwannee River crested after Hurricane Helene? Yes, upstream from the Alapaha River (Nobles Ferry Gauge) and downstream from the Santa Fe River (Rock Bluff Gauge). In between (Nobles Ferry to Branford Gauge) it’s still rising, although nowhere near Action Stage.

[Flooding: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-01 Not flooding: Suwannee, Ichetucknee, New, Santa Fe Rivers]
Flooding: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-01 Not flooding: Suwannee, Ichetucknee, New, Santa Fe Rivers

The Santa Fe and New Rivers were mostly unaffected by the storm.

The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are or were all in flood upstream, rapidly heading downstream.

So if you must go boating, the Santa Fe River or the Middle Suwannee River are your best bets. But if you can, stay off the roads and let emergency vehicles, road crews, and utilities work.

Details below, taken from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. NOAA is the first option in River water levels in the Suwannee River Basin 2024-08-07. Continue reading →

WWALS Water quality training, John Saunders Park, Valdosta, GA 2024-09-14

Linda Brock of Suwannee, Florida, down the Suwannee River at the Gulf of Mexico, got trained in Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) testing, both biological (E. coli) and chemical (pH, Dissolved Oxygen, etc.).

[Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Water Quality Testing Training 2024-09-14, John W. Saunders Memorial Park, Valdosta, Georgia]
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Water Quality Testing Training 2024-09-14, John W. Saunders Memorial Park, Valdosta, Georgia

Heather Brasell of Alapaha, Georgia, near Sheboggy Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River at US 82, and Janet Massengale of Valdosta, Georgia, on the Withlacoochee River, got retrained, as is required once a year.

WWALS Water Quality Testing Trainer Gretchen Quarterman does this every so often, as people sign up to get trained:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084

If you do get trained, please also come on board to test, weekly if you can, or when you can.
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/ Continue reading →

Floyd’s Island Campout, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-10-11

Update 2024-09-13: Brack Barker got a Floyds Island camping permit for Sunday, November 10. Since Monday, November 11, is a federal holiday, Veterans Day, that should work.

Join us to paddle 9 miles upstream on the Suwannee River for primitive camping on Floyd’s Island in the Okefenokee Swamp.

You must RSVP on meetup to get a spot.

This is the farthest you can get from any road in Georgia, with very dark sky.

You can camp inside the century-old Hebard Cabin, or in your tent or hammock outside.

Yes, you will see gators, and probably other wildlife.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end All Day, Sunday, November 10, 2024
Launch 9 AM, end 1 PM, Monday, November 11, 2024

Put In: Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Stephen C. Foster State Park in Charlton County.

GPS: 30.826833, -82.361333

[Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park]
Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park

Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Water, Wildlife, and Wilderness: the 3 National Wildlife Refuges of the Suwannee –Larry Woodward, WWALS Webinar 2024-11-21

Update 2024-10-09: Rescheduled due to impending Hurricane Milton. New date: Thursday, November 21, 2024, from noon to 1 PM.

Larry Woodward, Deputy Refuge Manager, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, will give a WWALS Webinar on the Suwannee River’s Water, Wildlife, and Wilderness, and the importance of the 3 National Wildlife Refuges of the Suwannee.

[Rescheduled: Water, Wildlife, and Wilderness: The 3 National Wildlife Refuges of the Suwannee River, Larry Woodward, WWALS Webinar 2024-11-21]
Rescheduled: Water, Wildlife, and Wilderness: The 3 National Wildlife Refuges of the Suwannee River, Larry Woodward, WWALS Webinar 2024-11-21

Register in advance with zoom for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsdOGtpzIpGdflOUxV423XHOi3TPNlaiSL

WWALS Board President Sara Jay Jones will give a brief introduction, Larry Woodward will speak for about 45 minutes, and we will have questions and answers. Continue reading →

How Native Americans and Early Settlers used Waterways –Chris Adams, WWALS Webinar 2024-09-12

Update 2024-10-10: Video: How Native Americans and Early Settlers used Waterways –Chris Adams, WWALS Webinar 2024-09-12 2024-09-12.

Well-known local historian and naturalist Chris Adams will give a WWALS Webinar about how people used waterways in the Suwannee River Basin, Native Americans and Early Settlers.

That will be by zoom, noon to 1 PM, Thursday, September 12, 2024.

[Now Native Americans and Settlers used Waterways, Chris Adams, WWALS Webinar 2024-09-12]
Now Native Americans and Settlers used Waterways, Chris Adams, WWALS Webinar 2024-09-12

Register in advance with zoom for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIudOGprToqHNPuxvmCdnt8v3o55Qc3NF_n

WWALS Board President Sara Jay Jones will give a brief introduction, Chris Adams will speak for about 45 minutes, and we will have questions and answers. Continue reading →