Songwriters, don’t forget to send in your song to the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest by tomorrow, July 20, 2022! Really final deadline this time.
![[Movie: Intro: Suwannee Riverkeeper and WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-19--scott-james-radio-videos/MVI_0319-01-47-intro.jpg)
Movie: Intro: Suwannee Riverkeeper and WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
Valdosta Mayor Scott James and Suwannee Riverkeeper talked about that and many other topics on his radio show this morning.
Here’s a Continue reading
Update 2022-07-22: Bad Quality Withlacoochee River 2022-07-21.
All clear for fishing, swimming, and boating on the Withlacoochee, Little, and Alapaha Rivers, according to the latest water quality test results we have.
But avoid Cat Creek and Beatty Branch for fishing. See below. (I don’t know anybody crazy enough to boat or swim in those creeks.)
There hasn’t been much rain the past few days, so probably not much contamination will wash into the rivers. No sewage spills have been reported in Florida or Georgia, other than Valdosta’s 200 gallon sewage spill on Baytree Road, which they vacuumed up quickly enough that probably little if any ever reached the Withlacoochee River.
Thunderstorms could change things quickly, but that’s what we know now.
Thanks to Scott Fowler of Valdosta Utilities for forwarding Valdosta test results soon after they are finished, so we know that Valdosta E. coli results were good for Wednesday and Monday at US 41, GA 133, and US 84. And we know Valdosta’s US 41 and GA 133 results for last Friday, July 8, 2022, were sky-high: 4,700 and 5,200 cfu/100 mL, respectively. The alert limit is 1,000.
Those high results could not be related to the July 9th Valdosta spill, because it hadn’t happened yet. That E. coli is probably not coming from Valdosta, since US 41 is upstream of almost all of Valdosta. Sure, something could be coming down Cherry Creek through Lake Cleve into the river, or it could be septic tanks in houses around there, or septic tanks across the river in Lowndes County.
Since high E. coli keeps turning up at US 41 and GA 133, WWALS set out to find out where it is coming from. Continue reading
Update 2022-07-15: Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14.
According to ten WWALS Thursday test sites on five rivers, and Madison Health lifting their Withlacoochee River Health Advisory, five rivers tested clean Thursday.
There was substantial rain yesterday, but since previous rains probably washed off the worst stuff, most likely there won’t be much effect on the rivers.
Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!
The most recent Valdosta data Continue reading
Update 2022-07-09: Five Rivers Clean 2022-07-07.
All six of the WWALS samples for yesterday were clean, over 55 Withlacoochee River miles in Georgia and Florida. Plus it turns out FDEP tested three spots last Thursday.
Happy swimming, boating, and fishing.
As mentioned in the previous post, there was significant rain just upstream of Valdosta yesterday, so conditions could change rapidly. But since we’ve already seen first flush after a long dry spell, I’d guess we won’t see anything that’s much of a problem, probably not even much cattle manure down Okapilco Creek out of Brooks County, GA.
Thanks to Continue reading
Update 2022-07-06: Still clean: Withlacoochee River 2022-07-05.
Turns out Valdosta did test during the holiday weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They finally posted their Friday results on their website yesterday. Saturday and Sunday we know because Madison Health sent them to WWALS. There is nothing about them on Valdosta’s own website, facebook, or twitter. A report of Valdosta’s Thursday sewage spill finally did show up in GA-EPD’s Sewage Spills Report, but it is lacking key information.
These Valdosta results mostly match what WWALS found through the weekend.
So by the most recent WWALS and Valdosta results, the Withlacoochee River is clean again. The three different contamination sources from Thursday seem to have all gotten diluted. The other two were probably agricultural, including the usual cattle manure down Okapilco Creek from Brooks County, Georgia.
Happy boating, swimming, and fishing.
There was some heavy rain last night just north of Valdosta, so conditions could change rapidly. However, we’ve already had the first flush after the recent dry spell, so I’d guess the rain won’t have much effect on river water quality. Continue reading
Update 2022-07-06: Withlacoochee River water quality good again 2022-07-03.
By WWALS samples Friday and Saturday, the Withlacoochee River appears clean from State Line Boat Ramp downstream, with tests also at Florida Campsites and Cleary’s Bluff between Allen Ramp and the Confluence.
Upstream at GA 133, it’s still bad. Possibly some of Valdosta’s Thursday sewage spill is still seeping into the river, or we’re just seeing residual contamination from that or from whatever got into the river from upstream of US 41 before that spill.
Around the corner at Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River, that’s OK.
There was quite a bit of rain in Colquitt County on Okapilco Creek, so more cattle manure may wash down from there.
Where all that previous contamination went is Continue reading
Update 2022-07-03: Withlacoochee River OK water quality except GA 133 2022-07-02.
Madison County, Florida, Health Department yesterday afternoon issued a Withlacoochee River health alert.
I hear that Madison Blue Spring is closed to swimming because of this alert. WWALS tested yesterday to attempt to find out how bad the problem really is; results later today.
To completely avoid the problem, I suggest putting in at Gibson Park on the Suwannee River and paddling down to Suwannee River State Park. Or try the Santa Fe, Ichetucknee, Little, Alapaha or Alapahoochee Rivers. WWALS has a rugged Alapahoochee paddle coming up next Saturday.
![[Madison Health and Valdosta warnings]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-02--madison-health-warning/many.jpg)
Madison Health and Valdosta warnings
Madison Health based the alert solely on Valdosta’s 127,750 gallon sewage spill of Thursday afternoon. But remember, there was already Continue reading
Update 2022-10-18: Forever chemicals contaminate Withlacoochee River in Georgia and Florida 2022-10-18.
Update 2022-07-03: Withlacoochee River OK water quality except GA 133 2022-07-02.
WWALS Science Committee Chair Dr. Tom Potter and I took PFAS samples at four locations on the Withlacoochee River Thursday.
We shipped the samples to Cyclopure, a company with which Waterkeeper Alliance got a deal for test kits for all U.S. Waterkeepers.
We picked Thursday because it was after big rains Wednesday, reported in some places nearby as up to four inches. So if any of those forever chemicals were washing off of fields fertilized with biosolids, or coming out of Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, or just left over from Moody Air Force Base’s spills it documented in 2016, maybe we will detect them.
Suwannee Riverkeeper got two kits: for Georgia and Florida. Each kit has two test sets, for upstream and downstream of likely contamination sources. Continue reading
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]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-30--wq/many.jpg)
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
Update 2022-07-01: Bad Water Quality, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-30.
Update 2022-06-25: Plus Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers also clean, thanks to Pam Thomas and the TREPO crew.
Not good at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River: 1,333 cfu/100 mL E. coli, above the alert level of 1,000. That was a Thursday sample, so watch out downstream. This is puzzling, since there has been no rain to speak of. Also, no sewage spills have been reported in Georgia or Florida in the Suwannee River Basin. Yet chances are something came down Okapilco Creek from Brooks County, Georgia. Sure, it could have been wild hogs directly on the river, but that’s less likely. Maybe there was more rain in Brooks County than the stations we use reported. Or maybe there was a sewage spill that has not yet been reported.
Everywhere else tested by WWALS Thursday was good: Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers.
The most recent Valdosta downstream results were for Monday, and was clean. The most recent Valdosta upstream were for Friday (apparently Valdosta city staff took Monday off for the new Juneteenth holiday), and were also clean, after the high GA 133 results last week.
So I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River from Knights Ferry Boat Ramp on down this weekend. Elsewhere looks good for boating, swimming, and fishing.
Thundershowers are expected this weekend, so conditions could change rapidly.
Thanks to Continue reading
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-14--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-07--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-05--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-07-02--wq/many.jpg)
![[PFAS testing and locations]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-30--pfas-testing/many.jpg)
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-23--wq/many.jpg)