Tag Archives: VWW

Valdosta wastewater improvements ribbon cutting being scheduled for May

Valdosta seems serious about finally opening its new force main and uphill Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant: they’re scheduling a ribbon cutting for May, a year ahead of the original schedule. According to both City Council Tim Carroll and Engineering Assistant Director Emily Davenport, the EPA has already pressure-tested the relevant lines and the plant, and approved them.

People downstream are rightly concerned at the many years they’ve endured wastewater from Valdosta. And recent schedule slips haven’t helped their perceptions, which is why actually holding Continue reading →

Details on Valdosta overflows last weekend 2016-04-04

Force main and the new WWTP on line by May!

More extensive overflows than usual last weekend, and now more extensive information about them, in the update Tim Carroll promised, on the City of Valdosta website as City System Impacted by Severe Storms and Regional Watershed. It even starts with schedule details, which say they’re ahead of the schedule I previously posted. This report’s table of overflows has start and stop times and amounts, with the Creeks affected.

It still doesn’t say which river basin they go into. Knights Creek flows into Mud Creek, which goes into the Alapahoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers. All the others end up in the Withlacoochee and the Suwannee Rivers. And there are still some unanswered questions. But getting the force main and the new WWTP on line by May is a very good development.

The City of Valdosta is ahead of schedule and plans to bring online nearly $60 million in wastewater system improvements next month. The $35 million Force Main project and the $23 million new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) are both ahead of schedule, and bringing them both online cannot come a day too soon for the city. 

“We are pleased to be in the final stages of construction on both projects. Testing is underway now with full startup expected in late May,” according to Director of Utilities Henry Hicks. “We are also pleased that these projects and other awarded sewer collection system improvement projects underway will resolve all the areas of the city impacted by reoccurring overflows that often follow heavy rains and regional flooding.”

Continue reading →

What Valdosta is doing about its wastewater problem

Update 2016-04-05: Actually, force main and new WWTP on line by May.

Frances Adams asked:

I just want to know when will this be fixed, I can’t even drink my water for it having ecoli in it. Someone needs to do something now!!!

The two biggest pieces are scheduled to be finished this summer and next summer: the force main project in July 2016, and the new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant relocated uphill by August 2017. Valdosta is spending upwards of $300 million to fix the problem.

As I point out every time I post about new spills, there are still open questions and, as your Waterkeeper® Affiliate for the upper Suwannee River and the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, WWALS Watershed Coalition will keep after Valdosta until we get the answers. See also the slides and videos from the meeting Valdosta held for us a year ago about this.

Here’s what Valdosta’s Sewer System Improvements web page says today: Continue reading →

More Valdosta wastewater spills over the weekend; stay tuned 2016-04-04

Update 2016-04-05: Here are the details, and force main and new WWTP on line by May.

Valdosta spilled more wastewater over the weekend, according to Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll, who called just now. The Withlacoochee River is out of its banks, actually up on the property containing the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), but “according to the experts” not going to threaten the plant. “But lines are underwater”.

Water is not even close to the new WWTP currently under construction, according to Carroll. And the new force main project should deal with much of the manhole overflow problem on the west side of Valdosta in the Withlacoochee basin, for example into Sugar Creek.

On the east and southeast, in the Alapaha basin, Continue reading →

Sewage into Two Mile Branch towards the Withlacoochee River 2016-02-15

I wonder what this “debris” was? And the rags? Anyway, Valdosta has fixed another sanitary sewage spill. Probably if you stay out of the water around 2500 Bemiss Road (south of Northside Drive) you’ll be OK. But you may also want to know where Two Mile Branch goes downstream, and as usual Valdosta didn’t tell us.

HUC boundaries aerial As we recall from Valdosta’s last episode of multiple wastewater spills earlier this month, Two Mile Branch runs into Sugar Creek which goes into the Withlacoochee River, and eventually into the Suwannee River and the Gulf of Mexico. Don’t be surprised if you see a Florida Department of Health advisory like the one earlier this month. Continue reading →

Yet more Valdosta wastewater spills

Maybe soon this February baker’s dozen of wastewater spills will be a thing of the past, but for now it’s deja vu similar to but worse than last February.

300x388 Figure 2.2.5. Sub-basins Areas, in Section 2 Methodology, by City of Valdosta, for WWALS.net, 14 January 2011 It looks like Valdosta has updated, as repeatedly asked, its schedule for wastewater project completion, with the force main project now aimed at July 2016 and relocation of the Withlacoochee WasteWater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for August 2017. See also Valdosta PR 22 January 2016, Withlacoochee Aerial Sewer Mains Replacement Project.

Those schedule changes are mentioned in the most recent Valdosta News. It does not, however, say which watersheds the various spills affect. I have added * for Alapaha River watershed and ** for Withlacoochee River watershed. It’s not that hard, and Valdosta has a water management plan that spells this all out, with maps. One Mile Branch** and Two Mile Branch** flow into Sugar Creek**, which goes into the Withlacoochee River**. Knights Creek* goes into Mud Creek* which goes into the Alapahoochee* River and then the Alapaha River*, eventually joining the Suwannee River in Florida, as does the Withlacoochee. Valdosta Utilities and Public Relations know all that. But why should every citizen, 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 →

Valdosta wastewater fixes schedule update

Thanks, Emily and Henry, and to the City of Valdosta for all your efforts. But could somebody please update the schedule on Valdosta’s website?

Subject: COV Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Update

Good afternoon Chris,

Force-Main-Project-Map--August-2015-001 Thank you for reaching out to me today for an update on the sewer improvements that the City has underway. We have continued to make substantial progress since our meeting back in March that you attended. As discussed then, the city has two major projects underway. One is a $36 million dollar Force Main project and the other is a $23 million dollar Plant Relocation. As of today, the Force Main project is 5 months ahead of the July 2016 schedule and the Plant Relocation is 16 months ahead of schedule. Both projects are tracking a timeline to be complete and online around February 2016. Please note that we have not had any overflow or major permit violations at the wastewater treatment plant since making the emergency repairs in February 2014.

Below is a quick summary of an update I recently received in reference to the sewer manhole overflows: Continue reading →

WWALS Goals for 2015

Boating on our rivers and water trails for them, issues and education: you can help with the fun and work of WWALS! Here’s much of what can be done laid out in a list of a dozen WWALS Goals for 2015. The board has at least one opening right now, and the committees always could use more members. You can apply through the online form.

See also the monthly newsletter, the news about WWALS, and of course the website with blog, facebook the page and group, and WWALS on twitter, Youtube, and the membership google group. You can become a member or corporate sponsor of WWALS online right now.

The WWALS Executive Committee 11 March 2015 recommended Continue reading →

WWALS on environmental issues panel in Valdosta at LCDP 2015-06-01

WWALS will be among five organizations discussing environmental issues a the monthly Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) meeting 6PM Monday June 1st 2015, at the Lowndes County Board of Elections, 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, GA.

Stopping Valdosta wastewater spills and restarting the Alapaha River Water Trail are among the topics WWALS President John S. Quarterman plans to mention. Solar power, the Sabal Trail pipeline, and fossil fuel divestment will also come up. Anyone can speak from the audience, so please come and join the discussion.

Other panelists, topics, and details in the LCDP post. Please join the facebook event.

-jsq