Tag Archives: Transparency

$1.7 million sanitary sewer improvements, Lowndes County Commission 2017-01-10

Tonight at 5:30 PM the Lowndes County Commission will vote on a contract for $130,000 out of $1.734 million for sewer system improvements from a GEFA loan. This includes work at the Land Application Site (LAS), which Lowndes County uses instead of a wastewater treatment plant. The LAS is in the Withlacoochee River watershed. Here is video of discussion of this item from yesterday morning’s Work Session.

6.i. Engineering Services for Sanitary Sewer System Improvements

6 i. Engineering Services for Sanitary Sewer System Improvements

Video. Utilities Director said Carter & Sloope was the same firm who originally designed the Lowndes County Land Application Site. The agenda sheet says, apparently mis-spelling the name:

Continue reading →

Videos: WWALS asks Lowndes County to invite Army Corps of Engineers to investigate Sabal Trail discrepancies @ LCC 2016-04-12

Delivered to the Lowndes County Commission Tuesday 12 April 2016 on paper and then by email (PDF, plus 1-page Suwannee County, FL request to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 28-page WWALS invitation to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), following up from two previous addresses to the same Commission.

See also the Carter Way item in that same Commission meeting, also related to Sabal Trail. Continue reading →

Industrial Wastewater Permit application for Suwannee River Plant by Duke Energy

Why does Duke Energy now want to dispose of industrial wastewater from its Suwannee River power plant in Suwannee County? Why did Duke apply for a water permit for the same plant the same day that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked for comments about Sabal Trail? Why does Sabal Trail want the same type of permit?

Profile Name: Suwannee Air

Permit: Water – Industrial Wastewater Facility Permit
Project Name: DUKE ENERGY – SUWANNEE RIVER
Location Id: FL0000183
Location Name: Duke Energy Florida – Suwannee River Generating Plant
County: Suwannee
Application Number: FL0000183-007

For further information, please contact the Tallahassee Headquarters permitting office in Tallahassee at (850) 245-8589

Why is a wastewater permit labeled “Suwannee Air”? And more questions…. Continue reading →

Two Valdosta sewer spills in Withlacoochee River watershed

What crosses Lee Street and Gornton Road heading to the Withlacoochee River? Aerial Map: One Mile Branch HUCs One Mile Branch and Sugar Creek, but you wouldn’t know that from Valdosta’s press releases.

Valdosta PR 27 October 2015, Grease Blockage Causes Small Sanitary Sewer Spill in City,

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2015, the City of Valdosta Utilities Department responded to a grease blockage that caused Continue reading →

Another sinkhole near where Sabal Trail proposes to gouge its pipeline

What if a sinkhole develops years later under the proposed pipeline in south Georgia or north Florida, and Sabal Trail declares force majeure and doesn’t pay, like FGT did in Louisiana in 2013?

Numerous news stories are linked in the LAKE blog post, but let’s pick just one.

Winnie Wright, WCTV, 5 August 2015, 150-Foot Sinkhole Opens in Lowndes County Residential Area, Continue reading →

Flooding charts: Withlacoochee and Little Rivers

Update 2025-09-21: Graphs from water.noaa.gov.

Related to the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail and the double USACE flooding study presentation tonight in Valdosta, here are river level charts upstream and down on the Little River, Okapilco Creek, and the Withlacoochee River related to a new USGS flood-tracking chart. In the example charts on the right, you can see the Little River peaked days ago at Tifton and yesterday at Hahira.

The Withlacoochee River peaked yesterday at US 41. while downstream it’s going up at US 84, and barely starting up at Pinetta (click on the above chart example for the rest). Right now you can see all that in the charts below. If this works, you’ll see something different later, because you’ll see current charts whenever you refresh this page.

Tifton Gauge, Little River at Upper Ty Ty Road, near Tifton, GA, Tift County, GA (02317797)

Highest safe 3.9 feet, 271 NAVD. Lowest boatable 0.1 feet, 267.2 NAVD.

Adel Gauge, Little River near Adel, GA, Cook County, GA (02318000)

Highest safe 7.9 feet, 181 NAVD. Lowest boatable 2.2 feet, 175.3 NAVD.

Hahira Gauge, Little River at GA 122, near Hahira, GA, Lowndes County, GA (02318380)

Highest safe 11 feet, 144 NAVD. Lowest boatable 4.25 feet, 137 NAVD.

Skipper Bridge Gauge, Withlacoochee River at Skipper Bridge Road, near Bemiss, GA, Lowndes County, GA (023177483)

Highest safe 10.7 feet, 131 NAVD. Lowest boatable 2.3 feet, 122.6 NAVD.

Valdosta Gauge, Withlacoochee River at US 41 near Valdosta, GA, Lowndes County, GA (02317755)

Highest safe 12.7 feet, 123′ NAVD. Lowest boatable 5.7 feet, 116′ NAVD.

Okapilco Creek Gauge, Okapilco Creek at GA 333, near Quitman, GA, Brooks County, GA (02318700)

Quitman Gauge, Withlacoochee River at US 84, near Quitman, GA, Brooks County, GA (02318500)

Highest safe 10.5 feet, 94 NAVD. Lowest boatable 2.0 feet, 85.5 NAVD.

Pinetta Gauge, Withlacoochee River near Pinetta, FL., Madison County, FL (02319000)

Highest safe 12.5 feet, 59 NAVD. Lowest boatable 6.0 feet, 52.5 NAVD.

Madison Gauge, Withlacoochee River near Madison, FL , Madison County, FL (02319300)

Highest safe 10.0 feet, 50 NAVD. Lowest boatable 0.1 feet, 40.1 NAVD.

Lee Gauge, Withlacoochee River near Lee, FL, Madison County, FL (02319394)

Highest safe 44.0 feet, 44 NAVD. Lowest boatable 29.5 feet, 29.5 NAVD.

The watersheds

See also interactive map.

315x535 WRWT, in Withlacoochee River Water Trail gauges, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 8 June 2015

See also

Old updates

Update 2016-05-31: See sea level gage reports.

Update 2016-04-27: graphs from water.weather.gov and some WRWT Safe Water Levels.

Update 2014-11-04: Simplified gage formatting.

Update 2014-11-03: That works, and see also Alapaha River water levels.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition @ VLCIA 2013-04-16

Water issues strongly affect economic development, so I talked about the new WWALS Watershed Coalition at the 16 April 2013 Board Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.

The VDT declined to speak, so I did. After apologizing for no okra today, I commended the Authority for talking about the missing agenda items and for mentioning due diligence and flood control.

Mostly I talked about the new WWALS Watershed Coalition, www.wwals.net, incorporated in June 2012, which is about watershed issues such as flooding, water quality, and invasive species related to the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River System. I mentioned arsenic in some local well water, which the Department of Health has finally said should be tested, three years after Janet McMahan discovered it was a problem. I invited VLCIA board and staff to two upcoming WWALS events:

WWALS board meetings are every second Wednesday of the month, usually at the IHOP in Adel because it’s centrally located. WWALS is communicating with Valdosta and various organizations about flooding and other watershed-wide issues, which in my opinion have to do with things like too much clearcutting without consideration for where the water goes, too much development without consideration for what the impervious surface would do, (to my surprise, the Executive Director and several board members nodded along with that) so it was good to hear them mention flood containment.

Here’s the video:


Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland, Chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett, Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton, Attorney, Tom Davis, CPA, Allan Ricketts, Project Manager,S. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Lu Williams, Operations Manager,
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 April 2013.

-jsq