Tag Archives: Valdosta Utilities

Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27

Update 2025-03-07: Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-03-06.

Update 2025-03-01: Ashburn spill locations and causes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-26.

We have no new water quality test results for Sugar Creek. However, since there has been no rain, chances are it’s not bad.

Meanwhile, Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 and US 84.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Withlacoochee River at Holly Point, down near the Suwannee, for Franks Creek at GA 122 west of Hahira, and for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

No new sewage spills were reported in Florida or Georgia, although GA-EPD did post some clarification about the most recent Ashburn spills; stay tuned for a separate post about that.

Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be sunny. The Withlacoochee River is still a bit high, but not if you know what you’re doing.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

[Clean Franks Creek, 2025-02-26, Clean Alapaha & Withlacoochee, Rivers 2025-02-27]
Clean Franks Creek, 2025-02-26, Clean Alapaha & Withlacoochee, Rivers 2025-02-27

Continue reading →

Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16, Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19

Update 2025-02-28: Clean Franks Creek 2025-02-26 and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2025-02-27.

We do not have any updates on Sugar Creek, but the recent rains probably washed more contamination into it.

Valdosta Utilities got too high E. coli downstream on the Withlacoochee River at GA 133 for Wednesday. But OK results farther down at US 84.

Upstream on the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton, WWALS got too high for Monday.

Ashburn had yet another small sewage spill Friday a week ago, at the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive, into Hat Creek, which goes to the Alapaha River.

“On Sunday, February 16, 2025 at approximately 6 PM,” Chemours spilled approximately 230,000 gallons of process water from its Trail Ridge South Mine east of Starke, Florida, upstream of the Santa Fe River. Stay tuned for a separate report.

The Withlacoochee River is in Action Stage at and above Valdosta and at Pinetta.

If you’ve got a power boat and stay below the Little River Confluence, the volume of rainwater probably makes the Withlacoochee River relatively clean. I wouldn’t recommend kayaks or canoes unless there’s more than one of you and you really know what you’re doing.

Paddling or fishing or swimming (if you like cold) would be better on other rivers this weekend. At least the weather prediction is sunny and warmer than it has been recently.

[Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16]
Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19, Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16

Little River

WWALS Internet and Tester Samantha Carr sampled the Little River at US 82 west of Tifton on Monday. We’re going with Suzy Hall’s interpretation of Samantha’s slides: 8+7+13 * 100 / 3 = 933 cfu/100 mL. That’s higher than the 410 one-time test limit. Continue reading →

Valdosta Sewage Spill Reports: Jackson Drive, not Street, and Sugar Creek 2025-02-17

Update 2025-02-22: Ashburn Spill 2025-02-14, Chemours Mine Spill 2025-02-16, Bad Little River 2025-02-17, Bad Withlacoochee River 2025-02-19 2025-02-19.

Valdosta reported the January 14, 2025, sewage spill in the wrong place. It was actually on Jackson Drive, near the Lowndes County Jail, not on Jackson Street, in downtown Valdosta.

[Jackson Drive, not Street, Dukes Bay Canal, Valdosta, GA Sewage Spills, and Sugar Creek]
Jackson Drive, not Street, Dukes Bay Canal, Valdosta, GA Sewage Spills, and Sugar Creek

Thanks to a tip, I asked Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes, who told me they reported the correct GPS coordinates. But GA-EPD does not publish GPS coordinates.

So WWALS sent an open records request asking for, “All sewage spill reports sent from the City of Valdosta to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) from December 4, 2024, through February 17, 2025, as well as any and all related correspondence between the City and GA-EPD.”

As usual, we got no correspondence, but we did get the report, which erroneously says Jackson Street, but it does have the GPS coordinates: 30.81102673, -83.27182962. Continue reading →

Dirty Sugar Creek, clean Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers 2025-02-13

Update 2025-02-16: Filthy Sugar Creek, Clean Withlacoochee River at State Line 2025-02-14.

Sugar Creek wasn’t as horrible this week as last, but it still tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road and downstream for Wednesday.

That was before an inch or two of rain Thursday, which most likely washed more contamination into Sugar Creek and on into the Withlacoochee River.

[Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains]
Dirty Sugar Creek & Clean Withlacoochee 2025-02-12, Clean Alapaha River 2025-02-13, Before the rains

But Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got excellent results for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach.

One new sewage spill was reported in the last week in Georgia, by Ashburn, into Hat Creek upstream on the Alapaha River. See other post:
https://wwals.net/?p=66982

None were reported in Florida.

Saturday is supposed to be partly sunny, with thunderstorms Sunday.

So other than near Sugar Creek, happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend, before the rain!

We did cancel the chainsaw cleanup tomorrow, due to high water level and Sugar Creek contamination.

But there’s another one on Sunday, February 23:
https://wwals.net/?p=66972

Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River and New River clean, Sugar Creek Dirty 2025-02-06

Update 2025-02-14: Five days of changes in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2025-02-14.

A step backwards: Sugar Creek tested too high in E. coli at Gornto Road for Wednesday.

It’s not as high as in many weeks, but still above the alert limit. And there had been no rain to wash anything into the creek.

So, what’s going on? Is there another leak? Or a glitch in the sewage spill bypass?

[New River clean 2025-02-02, Withlacoochee Clean 2025-02-06, Sugar Creek, Dirty 2025-02-05]
New River clean 2025-02-02, Withlacoochee Clean 2025-02-06, Sugar Creek, Dirty 2025-02-05

WWALS and Valdosta Utilities got good results for the Withlacoochee River both upstream and downstream of Sugar Creek.

And WWALS got OK results for the New River downstream (south) of Tifton at GA 125 in Berrien County.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the last week in Georgia or Florida.

No rain is predicted for the next five days, with warm sunny weather this weekend.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

Or join us at Troupville Boat Ramp for a Withlacoochee River chainsaw cleanup on Saturday, January 8:
https://wwals.net/?p=66873

Or another one on Sunday, January 9:
https://wwals.net/?p=66892 Continue reading →

Clean New Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers; Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-29

Update 2025-02-08: Withlacoochee River and New River clean, Sugar Creek Dirty 2025-02-06.

Finally! Valdosta Utilities got OK water quality results for Sugar Creek at Gornto Road, for the first time since the November 6-7, 2024, flash flood. Apparently the bypass is working.

WWALS got OK results for the New Little River south of Tifton and the Alapaha River at US 82, GA 122, and US 84.

Valdosta Utilities got OK results for the Withlacoochee River at US 41, good at GA 133, and OK at US 84.

However, Valdosta Utilities got too-high results at Knights Creek at Inner Perimeter Road. I wonder if there is a Sewage Spill warning sign there?

No new sewage spills have been reported in the last week in Georgia or Florida.

No rain is predicted for the next nine days, with balmy weather this weekend.

So happy fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating this weekend!

Or join us next weekend for a chainsaw cleanup on Saturday, January 8.
https://wwals.net/?p=66873

Or another one on Sunday, January 9.
https://wwals.net/?p=66892

[Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2025-01-30, Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-28]
Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2025-01-30, Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-28

Continue reading →

Cleaner but still dirty Sugar Creek 2025-01-24

Update 2025-01-31: Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers; Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-29.

As Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes promised Friday, results from the Valdosta water quality samples that day are on the city’s website.

There’s good news and bad news.

[Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse]
Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse

The good news is: E. coli counts at Gornto Road are down to 2,500 from 8,900 cfu/100 mL a week before. Continue reading →

Sugar Creek still filthy Saturday in Valdosta test results 2025-01-11

Update 2025-01-17: OK Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, Dirty New River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-01-15.

GA-EPD has updated the Valdosta Sugar Creek spill to 15,000 gallons. That’s more than 10,000 gallons, which is a major spill. Valdosta’s state-required reporting after it shows Sugar Creek still filthy for Saturday.

[Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill]
Sugar Creek still filthy in Valdosta testing 2025-01-11, follow-up after Major Sewage Spill

Valdosta’s new web page on 2025 Sugar Creek Spill Testing shows 5,300 Fecal coliform and 5,500 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Gornto Road for Saturday. That’s 5.5 times the 1,000 alert limit. Continue reading →

Sewer line break, Sugar Creek 2025-01-07

Update 2025-01-10: Filthy Sugar Creek, OK Withlacoochee River, Clean Alapaha River 2025-01-09.

Does that look like sewage is spilling out of it?

[Open sewer line in Sugar Creek, 700 feet north of RR trestle]
Open sewer line in Sugar Creek, 700 feet north of RR trestle

Looks to me like darker water coming from that pipe into Sugar Creek, when I was there yesterday. Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha River, OK Withlacoochee River, Filthy Sugar Creek 2024-12-19

Update 2024-12-27: Sugar Creek still filthy, Alapaha River OK 2024-12-26.

With no rain since last week, Sugar Creek is better, but still has too much E. coli at the WaterGoat near the Withlacoochee River. River water dilutes it below there, and upstream also the Withlacoochee River is clean. The Little and Alapaha Rivers tested clean.

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, but in Georgia, Ashburn had yet another small spill.

No flooding is shown on any river gauge in the Suwannee River Basin. The Santa Fe River at Fort White is actually too low to paddle.

So if you like cold, this weekend seems good to paddle, motor, swim, or fish, as long as you avoid the vicinity of Sugar Creek.

[Clean Alapaha, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend]
Clean Alapaha, Little Rivers, OK Withlacoochee River 2024-12-19 Avoid Filthy Sugar Creek; Good paddling this weekend

Alapaha River

Ashburn reported quickly for once that it had a 2,000-gallon sewage spill into Hat Creek from the usual location of Rockhouse Road and Sylvia Drive. This time the cause was “Equipment failure.” Get a grip, Ashburn! Continue reading →