Tag Archives: Weather

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-05-04

Update 2023-05-12: Clean Withlacoochee River, but raining now 2023-05-11.

WWALS tests were clean for Thursday on the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers.

No rain is predicted.

The only sewage spill reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida was a small one in High Springs, Florida, that probably did not affect the Santa Fe River.

Happy boating, fishing, and swimming this weekend.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-05-04]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-05-04

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for last Friday upstream and down. They show bad at GA 133 and US 84, and we have no new results for those sites. Continue reading →

Nankin filthy, Withlacoochee River 2023-04-27

Update 2023-05-04: High Springs small sewage spill, Santa Fe River 2023-05-04.

Nankin Boat Ramp came back really filthy. Everything else was clean, in the WWALS tests for Thursday on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

It rained a lot on Thursday, so more contamination has probably washed into the rivers, while that Nankin contamination washed downstream into Florida.

For paddling this weekend, I’d go far upstream or try the Suwannee or Ichetucknee Rivers; also for swimming or fishing.

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

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-27]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-27

By bad at Nankin we mean really bad. As in Too Numerous to Count (TNTC), which is usually more than 25,000 cfu/100 mL of E. coli, where 1,000 is the alert limit. You really don’t want that on you.

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are Continue reading →

Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20

Update 2023-04-29: Nankin filthy, Withlacoochee River 2023-04-27.

WWALS tests were clean for Thursday on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

Rain is predicted, but not much.

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

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Monday upstream and Wednesday week before last downstream. They generally Continue reading →

Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers 2023-04-13

Update 2023-04-21: Clean WIthlacoochee River 2023-04-20.

Update 2023-04-18: Naylor Beach and Boat Ramp in Swim Guide 2023-04-18.

Happy swimming, fishing, and boating this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-13

All WWALS water quality test results for Thursday show clean from E. coli for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers. Crawford Branch at Skipper Bridge Road was a bit higher, but well within the 410 one-time test limit.

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

Rain is predicted for Sunday morning, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-04-06

Update 2023-04-15: Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers 2023-04-13.

According to all the recent test results we have, the Withlacoochee River is pretty clean from E. coli. However, it’s raining upstream now, and predictions are for more rain tomorrow.

I’m still planning to paddle on Yet Another Cleanup Knights Ferry to Nankin, Withlacoochee River, 2023-04-08. If we’re quick, we may be finished before more than a drizzle falls.

If you want to paddle, swim, or fish this weekend, I’d recommend do it Saturday morning before the rain has much time to wash contamination out of creeks.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-06]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-04-06

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida since the tiny inland High Springs spill Thursday a week ago.

There is the matter of Valdosta’s followup testing after their February sewage spills, but the only bad results from that were Wednesday and Thursday a week ago, and that was in the Alapaha River basin. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-03-30

Update 2023-04-07: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-04-06.

Best to paddle, swim, and fish tomorrow morning. Rains are predicted tomorrow.

But until then, all the water quality tests we have are good, for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide map 2023-03-30]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide map 2023-03-30

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

But High Springs had a 150-gallon spill. That small an amount and apparently inland should have no effect on the Santa Fe River or its springs.

Thanks to WWALS tester Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-03-22

Update 2023-03-31: Clean Rivers 2023-03-30.

According to the most recent water quality data we have, happy swimming, fishing, and boating in the Withlacoochee River this weekend.

Rain is predicted for Saturday afternoon, and Sunday and Monday, so Saturday morning would be optimal for river pursuits.

Or come to the joint WWALS and City of Valdosta cleanup of Two Mile Branch at Berkeley Drive tomorrow morning, Saturday, March 25, 2023.

[Chart and Swim Guide 2023-03-22]
Chart and Swim Guide 2023-03-22

The most recent data is from Valdosta for Wednesday at US 41, GA 133, and US 84. This is because, for the first time ever, all the WWALS testers took a long weekend off at the same time.

Since there has been no rain since last Saturday, and no new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. So as weeks to take off, this is one of the best, because nothing is likely to have washed into the rivers. Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2023-03-16

Update 2023-03-24: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-03-22.

The Withlacoochee and Little Rivers tested clean from Thursday samples.

Beware rain is expected tomorrow evening.

So if you want to boat, fish, or swim this weekend, Saturday morning would be best.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2023-03-16]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide 2023-03-16

Tifton spilled 30,000 gallons of sewage Saturday, March 11, 2023, into a creek that runs into the New River, then the Withlacoochee. That was probably diluted before it got far downstream. Or was it? Valdosta got very high E. coli that Monday, March 13th. There was much rain in between, so something else may have also been washed into the river. See other post. Continue reading →

Again rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-06-10

Update 2023-06-15: Pictures: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup, Three Steps Landing to Fargo, GA 2023-06-10.

The deadfalls are still four feet underwater, with more rain coming, so we’re rescheduling again, this time to Saturday, June 10th, in hopes that summer evapotranspiration will keep the Suwannee River lower.

You do not have to use a saw to join us on the last five Suwannee River miles down to Fargo as we clear three or four more deadfalls.

[Duck and float under to the left, 14:59:12, 30.7158583, -82.5130261]
Duck and float under to the left, 14:59:12, 30.7158583, -82.5130261

Thanks to Adam Schock of the Conservation Fund for permission to use Three Steps Landing. That will make this one a lot easier than last time.

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 11 AM, end 4 PM, Satuday, June 10, 2023

Put In: Three Steps Landing. Meet at Fargo Ramp and we’ll sort out the shuttle.

Take Out: Fargo Ramp, Half a mile southeast of Fargo on US 441, the boat ramp is on the northeast side of US 441 and on the west (right bank) of the Suwannee River, in Clinch County, Georgia. Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2023-03-09

Update 2023-03-17: Clean Rivers 2023-03-16.

Update 2023-03-17: Tifton Evergreen Drive Sewage Spill 2023-03-11.

It rained this evening, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers, which were very clean before, according to WWALS water quality tests. So I would paddle, fish, or swim this weekend.

Actually, I’ll be at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta Saturday and Sunday.

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week. However, Tifton got around to reporting today a spill from a month ago. Continue reading →