Tag Archives: Suwannee Riverkeeper

Bad Water Quality, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-30

Update 2022-07-03: PFAS testing, Withlacoochee River, Georgia and Florida 2022-06-30.

Update 2022-07-03: Madison Health Advisory, Withlacoochee River 2022-07-02.

Please avoid the Withlacoochee River this weekend, at least downstream from Hagan Bridge (GA 122). Try the Little River or the Alapaha, or the Suwannee upstream of the Withlacoochee River Confluence.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide 2022-06-30]
Chart, River, Swim Guide 2022-06-30

There was already contamination washed into the river by rain up to 4 inches in spots, according to Valdosta’s Wednesday results at US 41 and GA 133: 1,000 cfu/100 mL and 2,000 cfu/100 mL, where 1,000 is the alert level.

Then Valdosta had a major sewage spill. Continue reading →

Valdosta Press Release about Gornto Road sewage spill 2022-07-01

Update 2022-07-01: Three reasons (including Valdosta) for Bad Water Quality, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-30.

Better late than never, Valdosta has announced its major Gornto Road Pump Station spill.

But the press release doesn’t say when the spill started or ended, doesn’t even say precisely where (“at the 2400 block of Gornto Road”) and apparently the city didn’t even discover this spill itself: “the City of Valdosta received notification”. Also no pictures, so I’ve used one of Scotti Jay’s.

[Gate.]
Gate.

Received via email at 9:19 AM, Friday, July 1, 2022.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
DATE: Friday, July 1, 2022
CONTACT: Sharah Denton, Community Relations & Marketing Manager
Telephone: (229) 259-3548
sdenton@valdostacity.com
www.valdostacity.com

On Thursday, June 30th, 2022, the City of Valdosta received notification of a possible ruptured sewer line at the 2400 block of Gornto Road. It was determined after review that a seal from the discharge side of the lift station had ruptured, which caused the issue. City staff were able to isolate the damaged seal and repair it. An estimated 127,750 gallons of discharge was released. Utility crews worked into the evening and captured a portion of the discharge. Staff immediately began cleanup and disinfecting at this overflow location. All appropriate regulatory and public health agencies have been notified, and warning signs have been posted.

Continue reading →

Book: Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, Third Edition 2022-06-30

The Third Edition of Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia. is finally out, after perhaps-perfectionist Suzanne Welander worked on it seemingly forever, and it is worth the wait.

[Cover and inside]
Cover and inside

It is even more thorough than previous editions, with some new put-ins added Continue reading →

Sewage spill decreased and stopped at Gornto Road Pump Station, Valdosta, GA 2022-06-30

Update 2022-07-01: Valdosta Press Release about Gornto Road sewage spill 2022-07-01.

The major sewage spill at the Gornto Road Pump Station slowed down around 6:18 PM and was stopped about 8:15 PM, according to witnesses at the site. It apparently started some time around 5 PM.

[Gate, sewage, people]
Gate, sewage, people

Following up on the previous report, Scotti Jay, observing from outside the fence:

6:13 PM. It’s actually shooting into the air. No pump trucks.

Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Buck Moon Paddle, 2022-07-13

Update 2022-07-12: Nic Cole has emergency work, but Elizabeth Brunner has agreed to lead this paddle.

Leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle, probably with bats.

When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 8 PM, moonrise 9:06 PM, sunset 8:38 PM, end 9:30 PM, Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

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

Event: facebook, meetup

[Moon boats]
Moon boats 2021-07-23

Continue reading →

Major sewage spill, Gornto Pump Station, Valdosta, GA 2022-06-30

Update 2022-07-01: Sewage spill decreased and stopped at Gornto Road Pump Station, Valdosta, GA 2022-06-30.

There’s a major sewage spill going on right now at Valdosta’s Gornto Road Pump Station, next to the YMCA on Gornto Road. This is according to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, who called me at 5:18 PM today.

He told me he thinks it will probably be a 100,000 gallon spill. For reference, 10,000 gallons is a major spill.

The cause was apparently a steel pipe that broke.

The spill has been reported to GA-EPD, I’m guessing by telephone.

[Gornto Pump Station, Map]
Gornto Pump Station, Map

The Mayor said they tried rerouting to the Remer Lane Pump Station, but that one fills up, and the sewage comes back. They have thought of a more permanent fix, but that will require some rebuilding.

Meanwhile, numerous city and contractor personnel are en route to the site.

I thank the Mayor for calling WWALS.

WWALS member Bobby McKenzie noticed it at 5PM when he picked up his children from the Y, and he sent the picture. Continue reading →

Sugar Creek trash boom after 1.5 inches rain 2022-06-29

Update 2022-07-05: Click ‘n’ Fix of uncleaned Sugar Creek WaterGoat 2022-06-30.

Substantial trash washed into the new WaterGoat trash boom on Sugar Creek in Valdosta after only 1.5 inches of rain yesterday.

Since then, upstream gauges recorded more than 2 inches, and some gauges around Lowndes County measured 3 and even 4 inches.

[Trash composite]
Trash composite

Valdosta needs to come up with a plan for cleaning out that trash boom, before that trash washes on down into the Withlacoochee River.. And get more trash booms and do something about upstream trash.

In good news, the Zacadoos on Ashley Street now has trash cans in its parking lot. Since we have often found Zacadoos discarded cups in the creeks, that’s really good. Yay, Zacadoos! Continue reading →

Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Troupville 2022-06-25

Update 2022-08-06: Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Sugar Creek to Troupville, Withlacoochee River 2022-07-30.

Five of us with five or six chainsaws cleared more than three log jams out of the Withlacoochee River above the Little River Confluence, and collected some trash, in the Chainsaw cleanup, Troupville Boat Ramp to Withlacoochee River 2022-06-25.

[banners, boats, sandbars, and saws]
banners, boats, sandbars, and saws

We’ll be back at it after about six weeks, i.e., probably in August. The current goal is to clear the stretches from Langdale Park Boat Ramp past Sugar Creek, and on around to Troupville Boat Ramp. Fortunately there are no log jams on the Little River from the ramp to the Confluence, but there are plenty left on the Withlacoochee River. Stay tuned. Continue reading →

Twin Pines Minerals sues Army Corps about oversight of strip mine site near Okefenokee Swamp 2022-06-27

Well, that did not take long. Only three weeks after an Assistant Secretary of the Army told the Army Corps it had to resume oversight of the proposed titanium-dioxide strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp, the miners have sued the Corps. They still want to strip mine for white paint materials within three miles of the Okefenokee Swamp, an economic engine for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida, and an irreplaceable refuge for numerous land, water, and bird species. That Swamp is the headwaters of the St Marys and Suwannee Rivers, and above the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink in south Georgia and north Florida, including for agriculture and industry. There must be better sources of jobs for Charlton County, Georgia.

[Twin Pines Minerals equipment on proposed mine site 2022-02-12]
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS, Twin Pines Minerals equipment on proposed mine site 2020-02-12, 30.52081, -82.1261

Mary Landers, The Current, June 27, 2022, Mining company sues Army Corps over project near Okefenokee: Twin Pines claims agency erred in overturning decision and seeking Muscogee Nation’s input.

Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers last week, claiming the federal agency erred when it bowed to “stakeholder pressure” earlier this month and made it harder for the company to get permits to mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

…In its filing, Twin Pines maintains “The Twin Pines Approved Jurisdictional Determinations were issued in compliance with all laws, regulations, and policies — including the tribal consultation policy — in effect when they were issued.”

More specifically, the company contends Continue reading →

HPS II drops Union County phosphate mine lawsuit 2022-06-23

Last Thursday, Kate Ellison posted on her facebook page the news that HPS II had dropped its lawsuit against Union County, Florida, which had been going on since 2019.

The miners were attempting to overturn Union County’s rejection of their phosphate mining permit applicaiton, and Union County’s changed land development regulations that prohibited such mining except in a small area. This is big news, although there may be more to come, and there are implications as far away as the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia.

[Union County Times, Nutrien Phosphate Mine]
Union County Times, Nutrien Phosphate Mine

Suwannee Riverkeeper has opposed this mine since 2017, because it is uphill from the New River which flows into the Santa Fe River and then the Suwannee River, and above the Floridan Aquifer. Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) has been in the middle of this opposition all along, so, not surprisingly, OSFR has posted an extensive review, see below, naming many of the other people involved.

I’d also like to mention that, Continue reading →