Tag Archives: Two Mile Branch

Possible Valdosta trash trap sites 2024-08-01

Here are three possible trash trap sites where a Valdosta City vac truck could retrieve the trash.

They are also all narrow stream stretches where a small trash trap should work.

Here are some video views of each of these three sites:
https://youtu.be/lw2QfeF_me0

[Possible Valdosta creek trash trap sites;
Possible Valdosta creek trash trap sites;

 -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/

Continue reading →

Valdosta announces four minor sewage spills due to Hurricane Debby 2024-08-06

Update 2024-08-09: Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Ichetucknee Rivers 2024-08-08.

This Valdosta press release came in at 12:58 PM, while my power was down.

Running off a generator, I got the previous posts out about the Quitman spills https://wwals.net/?p=65559 and the Valdosta Knob Hill spill. https://wwals.net/?p=65562

This Valdosta PR lists that 300 Knob Hill Drive [aka Road] spill as 8,000 gallons.

The 1020 Wainwright Drive spill with 7,000 gallons is just across the drainage ditch from Knob Hill Road, very near Three Mile Branch, which runs into the Withlacoochee River at the bottom of Langdale Park.

All four sites are at sites of previous spills.

All are also less than 10,000 gallons, so not major spills, which means GA-EPD does not require any followup water quality testing.

The 817 Gornto Rd spill with 6,000 gallons is uphill from Two Mile Branch, which runs into Sugar Creek.

The 1212 Wainwright Dr spill with 9,000 gallons is next to One Mile Branch, which also runs into Sugar Creek, which runs into the Withlacoochee River.

I don’t why the Valdosta press release does not mention any of those creeks nor the Withlacoochee River.

I commend Valdosta for including specific street addresses, and for getting this press release out in a timely manner. Maybe tomorrow these spills will show up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, like the Quitman spills already did.

I agree with the City of Valdosta about this, at least for the above-named creeks and nearby stretches of the Withlacoochee River: “Citizens are urged to avoid contact with rivers, creeks, streams, or tributaries.”

[Valdosta PR: 4 minor sewage spills 2024-08-06: Infiltration & Inflow, Hurricane Debby]
Valdosta PR: 4 minor sewage spills 2024-08-06: Infiltration & Inflow, Hurricane Debby
The spill sites are among the yellow diamonds on this WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
The Wainwright Drive manhole spill site is highlighted towards the bottom.
The 817 Gornto Rd spill site is near the center.
300 Knob Hill Drive is towards the top.

Tropical Storm Debby Results in Minor Spills

Continue reading →

Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots: Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2024-05-07

For years WWALS has been promoting work by Russell Allen McBride and others to clean up Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots, Valdosta, GA, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots, Valdosta, GA, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

Russell’s net full of trash is the top graphic on the WWALS trash issue page:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash/ Continue reading →

Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills 2024-04-11

Update 2024-08-06: Another Knob Hill sewage spill on Three Mile Branch in Valdosta 2024-08-05.

Update 2024-05-04: Clean rivers and some creeks, but rain 2024-05-02.

Valdosta knew the Withlacoochee River was filthy on that Friday and Saturday before it issued its press release on Monday, April 15, about its 6.7-million-gallon spill into Spring Branch to that river. We know this because Valdosta, unlike the other cities that spilled during the big rains of April 11, Valdosta puts its followup test results on the city’s website. Those results also show the river is clean, and has been since the Sunday after the spill. But some creeks are still filthy; see below.

[Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills]
Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills

For people going to festivals at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park: that location is upstream on the Suwannee River from the Withlacoochee River, and thus is not affected by any of the sewage spills that went into the Withlacoochee. I wouldn’t be surprised if the big rains washed some contamination into the Suwannee River. But that was three weeks ago, and most likely that E. coli was diluted and washed downstream long ago. The biggest thing you have to worry about in the Suwannee River at that park is probably contamination from people on the beach there. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25

Update 2024-05-04: Clean rivers and some creeks, but rain 2024-05-02.

Update 2024-05-03: Valdosta test results: filthy Withlacoochee River after big spill, many creeks still filthy after smaller spills 2024-04-11.

This week, the rivers that have been tested were clean: Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe.

This is despite a Wednesday inland High Springs sewage spill of 1,500 gallons.

And clean even in the aftermath of all the spills of last week. There is more about sewage spills below, including that Valdosta did test the Friday and Saturday of the big spill, and the Withlacoochee River was filthy then.

But it’s clean now, and water levels are coming down in all the rivers. So if you don’t mind still a bit high and fast, happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

[Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25; Filthy Withlacoochee River & creeks 2024-04-12, 2024-04-13]
Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25; Filthy Withlacoochee River & creeks 2024-04-12, 2024-04-13

Testing at State Line by Madison Health and FDEP on Wednesday last week corroborated the WWALS result for the previous day. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) also tested downstream at CR 150 (Sullivan Launch) and at FL 6, and all three sites again Thursday, getting clean results each time. That corroborated the WWALS result for Holly Point downstream on that Thursday.

Madison Health has not yet withdrawn its health advisory for the Withlacoochee River, but I imagine it probably will the next time they or FDEP test.

And it turns out Valdosta is posting on its website the results of the testing it is required to do by the Georgia Environmental Pro Division (GA-EPD) after each major spill. None of Quitman, Tifton, Rochelle, Ashburn, or Homerville are posting their results, so that’s a good thing Valdosta is doing.

Those Valdosta results for this Wednesday and last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday also corroborate the WWALS results at US 84 and GA 133.

As noted last week, apparently the massive flow of the river from the rains diluted or washed the contamination downstream.

But Valdosta got very different results for Friday April 12, and Saturday April 13. Continue reading →

Dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17

Update 2024-04-26: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25.

After the week of sewage spills after the recent rains, WWALS found Sugar Creek dirty and Spring Branch filthy, but four rivers clean: Withlacoochee, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe.

That’s right, while Spring Branch was filthy (7 times the alert limit for E. coli) right next to Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) that spilled 6.7 million gallons Friday through Sunday, the Withlacoochee River tested clean at five locations.

We can only guess that the massive flow of the river from the rains diluted or washed the contamination downstream.

You still might want to think twice before boating, fishing, or swimming in the rivers, since they are all in flood or at least Action Stage.

[After heavy thunderstorms and sewage spill week, dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17]
After heavy thunderstorms and sewage spill week, dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17

We have no new Valdosta results since last week, because Valdosta only tests once a week on Wednesday, and while they probably did sample yesterday, they have not posted their results.

Nevermind that Madison Health issued a health advisory for the Withlacoochee River because of Valdosta’s spills.

So that leaves WWALS and FDEP and SRWMD to test after Valdosta’s mess. Continue reading →

Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-11

Update 2024-04-26: Clean Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Santa Fe Rivers 2024-04-25.

Update 2024-04-18: Dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17.

The Tuesday and Wednesday GA-EPD Sewage Spills Reports provide updates about the spills during and after last week’s thunderstorms.

Tifton’s biggest spill was 40,400 gallons, which is four times the limit for a major spill, and GA-EPD still is confused about where it was.

Rochelle’s spill was only 3,000 gallons. No sewage spill is a good spill, but at least that one was small.

Quitman had three, not two, spills, although they were all small and not near Okapilco Creek.

We guessed correctly where the Homerville spill was.

And while latitudes and longitudes appeared again briefly, many of them are inaccurate, for Tifton, and especially for Valdosta. Even Valdosta’s 6.7 million gallon WWTP spill has slightly wrong latitude and longitude.

We know where they all were, and WWALS has been doing some water quality testing. Stay tuned for results.

[Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-16-17]
Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-16-17

The Tuesday report provides 5,000 gallons for the Rochelle spill.

For the Tifton spills, it provides Continue reading →

Valdosta, Quitman, and Tifton sewage spills in big rains 2024-04-11

Update 2024-04-15: Valdosta spilled 6.7 million gallons including 1.34 million gallons raw sewage 2024-04-12.

Update 2024-04-13: Clean before the storm, but sewage spills during 2024-04-11.

During the recent thunderstorms, Quitman had two sewage spills, presumably into Okapilco Creek, and Tifton had two spills into the New River, according to the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, all of unknown amounts.

According to a City of Valdosta press release, Valdosta had seven sewage spills during the storms, adding up to 434,850 gallons of raw sewage. Plus a small spill a few days before due to grease and rags.

[Tifton, Quitman, and Valdosta thunderstorm sewage spills 2024-04-11]
Tifton, Quitman, and Valdosta thunderstorm sewage spills 2024-04-11

Georgia Updates, Newsbreak, April 12, 2024, Valdosta Residents Face Sewer Overflows After Major Rainfall Event, “Residents are advised to avoid contact with rivers, creeks, streams, or tributaries in Lowndes County due to potential exposure to untreated sewage.”

That sentence is not in the City of Valdosta press release from yesterday, although that PR is the source for the rest of that story.

Interestingly, no spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida in FDEP’s Public Notices of Pollution.

Recent Valdosta Sewage Spills

Here is Valdosta’s 2024-04-11 spill report table, with an additional column for waterbody that I added, and a row for the April 9 grease and rags spill, followed by subtotal and total rows.

Update 2024-04-14 Also I inserted a date column and some reformatting.

LocationDate            Start TimeEnd TimeCauseEstimated
Gallons		Waterbody
1402 N Lee St (1)2024-04-117:30 AM12:00 PMI&I*40,500One Mile Branch
1402 N Lee St (2)2024-04-117:30 AM12:00 PMI&I*6,750One Mile Branch
1402 N Lee St (3)2024-04-117:30 AM12:00 PMI&I*67,500One Mile Branch
1212 Wainwright Dr2024-04-1111:00 AM6:00 PMI&I*150,000One Mile Branch
2509 Seymour2024-04-1111:15 AM3:00 PMI&I*900Two Mile Branch
1817 Gornto2024-04-1110:00 AM6:00 PMI&I*60,000Lake Sheri
1825 Norman Dr2024-04-1110:15 AM3:00 PMI&I*1,200Sugar Creek
213 Knob Hill2024-04-1111:00 AM6:00 PMI&I*108,000Three Mile Branch
Subtotal* Infiltration and Inflow434,850
4051 Huntley Dr2024-04-09?6:30 PMGrease and rags5,000Cherry Creek
Total439,850

What we do not see is any spills from the notorious collapsed sewer main between E. Park Ave. and US 84. Maybe the bypass is finally working correctly.

I commend Valdosta for including start and end times and precise locations, as well as for timely press releases. Next, if they can look in Valdosta Stormwater Division maps to determine which streams the spills end up in, that would be great. Continue reading →

Reroute: Sugar Creek and Troupville Withlacoochee River on-land cleanup 2023-07-22

Update 2023-07-22:Pictures: Sugar Creek Withlacoochee River on-land cleanup 2023-07-22.

Due to bad water quality reports for Sugar Creek heard from the City of Valdosta, we are revising the cleanup from a paddle to an on-land cleanup. Please come to Sugar Creek at 9AM to hear where we will go from there.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, July 22, 2023

Where: Meet at the back of the Salty Snapper parking lot, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602 and we’ll go to appropriate locations from there.

GPS: 30.861764, -83.318854

[At Langdale Park Boat Ramp: Caution Sewage Spill City of Valdosta --Bobby McKenzie 2023-07-21]
At Langdale Park Boat Ramp: Caution Sewage Spill City of Valdosta –Bobby McKenzie 2023-07-21

Bring: Cleanup materials will be provided, but if you’ve got a trash picker, bring it along. Bring sturdy shoes and clothes, drinking water, and snacks.

There is no need to bring a boat. Continue reading →

Pictures: Two Mile Branch Berkley Drive Cleanup 2023-03-25

It went well, the joint WWALS and City of Valdosta cleanup of Two Mile Branch at Berkley Drive, on March 25, 2023.

Many good things have happened since then.

However, there is still plenty the City needs to do about trash.

[Collage @ Two Mile Branch Cleanup 2023-03-25]
Collage @ Two Mile Branch Cleanup 2023-03-25

Thanks to Bobby McKenzie for leading, neighbor Jan Powell for rustling up some participants and helping at the table, to City Engineer Ben O’Dowd, City Council Tim Carroll, and Mayor Scott James Matheson for helping, along with quite a few other volunteers.

See also facebook photosets and videos by:

Some of the things the Engineer and Mayor promised have happened. Continue reading →