Tag Archives: US 41

Filthy upstream Withlacoochee, clean downstream and Little and Alapaha Rivers 2023-09-07

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Update 2023-09-15: No water quality test results this week; Adel sewage spill two weeks ago 2023-09-14.

Update 2023-09-09: Upstream Alapaha River results.

In samples taken Thursday, WWALS testers found the Withlacoochee River filthy upstream of the Little River Confluence, at Franklinville, US 41, and GA 133.

FYI: Franklinville is upstream from Valdosta, so it’s not them this time.

So it’s a good thing we cancelled tomorrow’s Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup on the Withlacoochee River.

The Little River and the Alapaha River tested clean.

Update 2023-09-09: Except at the outflow creek from the Alapaha, GA, WWTP, where Heather Brasell got way-too-high 1,900 E. coli. However, she got zero for the Alapaha River just upstream from Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82; can’t get much better than that.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07

On the Little River, the Withlacoochee River downstream of the Little River Confluence, and the Alapaha River, happy swimming, fishing, and boating, as long as you don’t mind the rivers being high and fast.

We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers. Maybe you’d like to become one. Sign up here:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084

Three new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia, all from Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-08-24

Update 2023-08-29: 8,400 gallons of sewage into Dukes Bay Canal, Valdosta, GA, due to unknown obstruction 2023-08-28.

No rain for a week means clean Withlacoochee River, and that’s what WWALS testers found for Thursday.

Crawford Creek was too high in E. coli, but Staten Road and US 41 downstream on the Withlacoochee River were clean, with Franklinville Road pretty clean upstream.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-24]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-24

We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers. Maybe you’d like to become one.
https://wwals.net/2018/11/16/sign-up-for-water-quality-testing-training/

Only one new sewage spill has been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida: Continue reading →

Rivers clean again 2023-08-17

Update 2023-08-25: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-08-24.

2023-08-23: Valdosta spilled 15,000 gallons of wastewater into Knights Creek 2023-08-22.

After Valdosta’s sky-high Wednesday upstream Withlacoochee River results, WWALS got much better results upstream and down for Thursday samples on the Withlacoochee River plus the Little River. Even the usual problem creeks, Crawford and Sugar, were pretty clean. WWALS Alapaha River Wednesday results were very clean.

We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers. Maybe you’d like to become one. There’s a testing training coming up August 25th at Suwannee River State Park:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

There has been no rain today to wash more contamination into the rivers and creeks.

We already rescheduled tomorrow’s Withlacoochee River paddle: Re-reschedule Retry Sugar Creek to Troupville Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-09-02.

But so far as we can see in the test results, happy swimming, fishing, and paddling on the rivers this weekend.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-17]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-17

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Friday before last downstream.

For Wednesday Valdosta got way too-high results for US 41, GA 133, and US 84.

Thanks to WWALS testers Cindy and David Vedas for testing Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River and creeks bad upstream 2023-08-10

Franklinville Road on the Withlacoochee River above Valdosta was above the one-time test limit for E. coli, as was Crawford Branch, plus Sugar Creek which drains most of Valdosta was even higher, in WWALS sampling for Thursday.

We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers. Maybe you’d like to become one; please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

There has been no rain in the past few days to wash contamination into the rivers and creeks.

Some got in there anyway.

So I’d avoid the upper reaches of the Withlacoochee River, at least avoid above the Little River Confluence.

Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow morning on to paddle Naylor to Mayday on the Alapaha River. Beware: this paddle has many shoals, and is for experts.

[Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide 2023-08-10]
Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide 2023-08-10

The Sugar Creek result may be due to ongoing effects from Valdosta’s July 17th 6,000 gallon sewage spill into Hightower Creek “behind the Target,” reported as at 1700 block River Street. We have no new Valdosta test results related to that spill.

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Friday downstream.

For Wednesday Valdosta got too-high results for US 41, Continue reading →

Bad water quality upstream Withlacoochee River 2023-08-07

Update 2023-08-18: Rivers clean again 2023-08-17.

Valdosta reported bad water quality at US 41 for Friday, and for there, GA 133, and US 84 for Monday.

I’d avoid that stretch of the Withlacoochee River until better results are reported by Valdosta or by WWALS. WWALS will sample again Thursday, as usual.

[Bad upstream Withlacoochee River water quality 2023-08-07]
Bad upstream Withlacoochee River water quality 2023-08-07

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

There was spotty rain last weekend and before, but what is washing into the Withlacoochee River? More testing is needed to determine that. WWALS is looking into that.

This data about bad Fecal coliform and E. coli appears on Valdosta’s website and we add it to our WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality, rainfall, and sewage spills, as well as to the smartphone app Swim Guide

[Bad Water Quality, Upstream Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide 2023-08-07]
Bad Water Quality, Upstream Withlacoochee River, 2023-08-07, Swim Guide
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

For comparison, here is a map of public landings in the same testing area. Continue reading →

Clean rivers, filthy creeks 2023-08-03

Crawford Branch above Valdosta was above the one-time test limit for E. coli, and Sugar Creek which drains most of Valdosta was even higher, above the alert limit, in WWALS sampling for Thursday.

But the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested good.

More WWALS volunteer water quality testers reported this week, but we are still short-handed. Maybe you’d like to become a WWALS tester; please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Rain fell hard today, but only briefly, so most of the rivers are probably OK for fishing, swimming and boating this weekend.

Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow morning on Yes Another Cleanup Knights Ferry to Nankin, Withlacoochee River 2023-08-05. Continue reading →

Very bad water quality at US 41 and GA 133 Monday 2023-07-31

Update 2023-08-09: Bad water quality upstream Withlacoochee River 2023-08-07.

Update 2023-08-07: 2023-08-07: Valdosta City Council approved match for a GA-EPD seed grant that WWALS told them about 2023-07-27.

Update 2023-08-02: Reschedule Retry Sugar Creek to Troupville Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-08-19.

Valdosta’s Withlacoochee River water quality results for Monday, July 31, 2023 were very bad at US 41 (North Valdosta Road) and GA 133. Bad was 12,000 cfu/100 mL of E. coli at US 41, which is twelve times the alert limit of 1,000.

There was intermittent rain over the weekend upstream from Valdosta, which probably washed contamination into the river.

Judging by the previous WWALS creek tests, most likely that contamination came down Cat Creek. More testing is needed to find out what it is.

[Problem spots and context 2023-07-31]
Problem spots and context 2023-07-31

Those locations are north and west of Valdosta. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River, filthy Crawford and Sugar Creeks 2023-07-28

Update 2023-08-02: Very bad water quality at US 41 and GA 133 Monday 2023-07-31.

The Withlacoochee River tested good for Friday in WWALS sampling, but Crawford Branch and Sugar Creek were each above the one-time test limit for E. coli.

The Sugar Creek result is presumably due to ongoing effects from Valdosta’s July 17th 6,000 gallon sewage spill into Hightower Creek “behind the Target,” reported as at 1700 block River Street. This follows the disturbing Sugar Creek results Valdosta Utilities told us about Friday a week ago, after which we converted a cleanup paddle into an on-land cleanup.

We do not have any downstream results because the WWALS volunteer water quality testing program is short-handed this week. Maybe you’d like to become a WWALS tester; please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Rain fell hard today, but only briefly, so most of the rivers are probably OK for fishing, swimming and boating this weekend, although we have no downstream test results to tell.

I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River downstream from Sugar Creek as far as the Little River Confluence.

[Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-28]
Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-28

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Wednesday two weeks ago downstream. For Monday Valdosta got way-too-high results for US 41 Continue reading →

Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers, but warning 2023-07-20

Update 2023-07-29: Clean Withlacoochee River, filthy Crawford and Sugar Creeks 2023-07-28.

Update 2023-07-22: Valdosta sewage spills bad for people, wildlife, economy –Suwannee Riverkeeper on WTXL.TV 2023-07-21.

The Alapaha, Little, and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday in WWALS sampling. But there are ongoing effects from a couple of Valdosta sewage spills, plus a new one from Quitman.

Valdosta Utilities tells us of some disturbing results on Sugar Creek, downstream of the Valdosta spill of July 17th and upstream of the Withlacoochee River. (I would publish those test results, but I do not have them in writing.)

Because of those results, we have converted tomorrow’s cleanup paddle to an on-land cleanup.

If you do paddle this weekend, I recommend the Little or Alapaha Rivers, or the Ichetucknee, Santa Fe, or Suwannee.

Also, Quitman had a 12,500 gallon sewage spill on July 11th that was just reported today. That goes into Okapilco Creek into the Withlacoochee River.

No other sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-20]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-20

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday upstream and Wednesday a week ago downstream. For Monday Valdosta got way-too-high results for US 41, GA 133, and US 84 on the Withlacoochee River. WWALS got a much better result for Thursday at US 41. We did not test at GA 133 or US 84, expecting to get Valdosta’s Wednesday results. No such luck.

FYI, GA 133 is on the route the Valdosta Mayor and City Council member were supposed to paddle with us tomorrow. You’d think Valdosta would have tested and reported in a timely manner before that. But they did not.

Meanwhile, Valdosta’s followup testing after its July 6, 2023, 194,251-gallon raw sewage spill into Knights Creek keeps showing way too-high Fecal coliform and E. coli downstream on Knights Creek, which is upstream of the Alapahoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers. I have to wonder whether Valdosta has had more spills that it has not reported, possibly because it does not know about them. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-07-13

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

There was rain today, and more is expected tomorrow, so contamination could wash into the rivers.

No sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

So fish, swim, and boat at your own risk this weekend.

Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow, Withlacoochee Springs and Slough, Sullivan Launch 2023-07-15.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-13]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-13

Valdosta’s major spill of 2023-07-06 still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager two weeks ago promised to look into that.

Ashburn had three spills two weeks ago, one of them major, all finally reported this Wednesday. We’ll post a writeup on those later. Continue reading →