Tag Archives: Swift Creek

FDEP now maps last 30 days of spills

Pollution spill maps online, up to date, with interactive links to details: Florida is doing it, and so can Georgia.

Florida, Maps

For more than a year FDEP has been posting spill reports online in a spreadsheet the same day it gets them, with email notice signup (Alabama also does that). FDEP has added a Public Notice of Pollution (PNP) Finder: Last 30 Days, which helps a lot in finding spills in our watersheds.

Did you know there was a Phosphoric Acid spill at White Springs last week, on Continue reading →

PotashCorp Field Trip Summary –David Wilson 2017-04-13

The moonscape that seems to go on forever while flying over Hamilton County, Florida in a small plane is the PCS phosphate mine, as seen in some WWALS aerials in these slides that David Wilson presented at a Santa Fe River Springs Protection Forum April 13, 2017 at Otter Springs, Florida. Dave is Treasurer of the Board of Florida Springs Institute, and a WWALS member. His slides are published on the WWALS website with his permission.


Slide 14

According to the slides, perhaps JEA is responsible for the low water levels at White Sulfur Springs, formerly a famous resort, now bone dry: Continue reading →

Water low but passable, White Springs to Swift Creek, Suwannee River 2017-05-20

Update 2017-05-17: OK, the water’s gotten too low at the original location, so we’re moving downstream to Woods Ferry Tract Launch to Suwannee Springs.

Hands Across the Sand on the Suwannee Saturday! The river is quite low (48.78 feet NAVD on the White Springs gage), but it looks doable from the put-in and take-out. A ranger at Stephen Foster State Park told me paddling from White Springs to Swift Creek would be doable, perhaps with a few dry spots. I’ll also call a local outfitter or two for their opinions.

White Springs down from ramp

White Springs down from ramp

Meanwhile, bring bug spray (gnats) and a rope (to pull your boat over sand bars), and we’re still on for 9AM Saturday 20 May 2017. See the outing announcement for more details.

Plus: that’s the day of Hands Across the Sand, “Say NO to dirty fuels and YES to clean energy”. WWALS has been saying that for years, so somewhere on the Suwannee we will stop and do Hands Across the Sand against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and for solar power.

White Springs low spot

Continue reading →

White Springs to Swift Creek, Suwannee River, 2017-05-20

Because SRWMD tells us Blue Sink Launch is closed, our May Suwannee River outing will take out slightly downstream at Swift Creek Lunch, which should be easy to recognize from the river because American Canoe Adventures has put up these nice triangular flags:

Flags by ACA
Photo: Jesse Wilkes, November 23, 2016

The put in at White Springs Wayside Park and everything else is the same; see the updated outing announcement for all the details.

We’re bringing bon-bons. See you there in May!

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

Swift Creek confluence with Suwannee River

Chris Mericle took this picture today, 20 December 2015, Map of Swift Creek entering the Suwannee River, just east of I-75, in the Swift Creek Conservation Area, in Hamilton County, Florida, at 30.3460222, -82.8268667. -jsq

Confluence with Suwannee River