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.
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.
WWALS water quality tests were clean before the storm for the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers, as well as Sugar Creek.
Valdosta Wednesday results agreed.
Plus almost all the rivers are in flood or at least Action Stage.
I’d avoid the rivers this weekend, except maybe the Suwannee between White Springs an Ellaville,
and the Santa Fe upstream from High Springs: those are not yet in Action Stage.
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.
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.
Location
Date
Start Time
End Time
Cause
Estimated Gallons
Waterbody
1402 N Lee St (1)
2024-04-11
7:30 AM
12:00 PM
I&I*
40,500
One Mile Branch
1402 N Lee St (2)
2024-04-11
7:30 AM
12:00 PM
I&I*
6,750
One Mile Branch
1402 N Lee St (3)
2024-04-11
7:30 AM
12:00 PM
I&I*
67,500
One Mile Branch
1212 Wainwright Dr
2024-04-11
11:00 AM
6:00 PM
I&I*
150,000
One Mile Branch
2509 Seymour
2024-04-11
11:15 AM
3:00 PM
I&I*
900
Two Mile Branch
1817 Gornto
2024-04-11
10:00 AM
6:00 PM
I&I*
60,000
Lake Sheri
1825 Norman Dr
2024-04-11
10:15 AM
3:00 PM
I&I*
1,200
Sugar Creek
213 Knob Hill
2024-04-11
11:00 AM
6:00 PM
I&I*
108,000
Three Mile Branch
Subtotal
* Infiltration and Inflow
434,850
4051 Huntley Dr
2024-04-09
?
6:30 PM
Grease and rags
5,000
Cherry Creek
Total
439,850
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 →
Yesterday Russell scouted the route from Langdale Park Boat Ramp down the Withlacoochee River past Sugar Creek, and up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp.
He reported:
“Put in at Langdale Park at about 3:30. Water was over the boat ramp. The road coming in was fine though. I parked shy of the ramp and put in. Most trash is to one side or the other kind of out of the current. From Langdale down to Berta’s it was not super bad. Behind Wood Valley probably was the worse spots. Then the usual spots near Troupeville River camp area. I never had to get out of my kayak the whole way….
“On a positive note. There are more trash cans down at Langdale park and looks like they are chained.”
We got bad results for Thursday for the Alapaha River.
We have few other results, but we know there was much rain Wednesday and Thursday, and that usually washes contamination into the rivers.
If I were you, I would pick something else to do this weekend instead of
boating, swimming, or fishing.
Also, Ashburn had yet another spill,
although that was probably too far upstream to have much effect.
It sure looks like there was some sort of overflow from the city of Alapaha wastewater treatment plant,
even though none has yet shown up in the reports.
Valdosta’s most recent upstream Withlacoochee River results are for Wednesday a week ago.
Apparently they did not post their Wednesday results for this week
because today is a holiday.
Similarly, most of the usual WWALS testers are off because of the holiday weekend.
There are no Valdosta Monday results, because, as we learned last week from Acting Utilities Director Jason Barnes, “we are collecting once a week.”
As
previously noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023.
Since for two weeks now Valdosta has reported “No Sample” for North Valdosta Road,
we guess they’re not collecting there any more, either.
Perhaps it is not coincidental that it is now three years (minus one month) since the March, 2020, GA-EPD Consent Order on Valdosta that required downstream testing as a way to reduce the amount of the fine.
It rained today, and more is predicted for tomorrow.
That may wash some contamination into the rivers.
I’d recommend the Suwannee, Alapaha, or Santa Fe Rivers for this weekend.
The rivers are at pretty good paddling levels, and it’s not cold.
So watch the weather, bring rain gear, and happy paddling, fishing, and maybe swimming this weekend. Continue reading →
Remember Valdosta’s
two small 100-gallon sewage spills on February 20,
at Three Mile Branch from Knob Hill Road,
and into One Mile Branch from Boone Drive @ Baytree Road,
which drains into Sugar Creek, then to the Withlacoochee River?
Well, Valdosta had another spill at 215 Knob Hill Road,
1,500 gallons each from there and from two overflow sites nearby.
Yes, that drains into Three Mile Branch which goes into the Withlacoochee River
along the route of the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.
But 4,500 gallons should be small enough to be diluted and washed away by now.
Successful boat trials at Action Stage on the Little River!
Videos by John S. Quarterman and Russell Allen McBride for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS).
Thanks to Laura D’Alisera for transfering the new WWALS 9.9hp Mercury fourstroke 20-inch shaft electric start outboard motor ten miles from West Marine in Jacksonville Beach to a shipping location, where Phil Hubbard received it Saturday.
Thanks to Wild Green Future (WGF) for the generous grant that bought it.
Sunday evening, Russell Allen McBride, Shawn O’Connor, Bobby McKenzie, and I
unboxed it, connected it to its fuel supply, and tried it out.
Thanks to Flint Riverkeeper for the jon boat.
With that outboard, the jon boat will indeed go upriver easily under these conditions.
It took only ten minutes to haul Russell in his kayak up the third of a mile from the Little River Confluence to Troupville Boat Ramp.
Also due to WGF, we received an 85lb-thrust Goplus 8 Speed, 36 inch shaft, trolling motor, two
Power Queen LiFePO4 12.8V 100Ah, lithium-iron-phosphate batteries,
and a Power Queen 14.6V 10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger.
Those we put on the WWALS bass fisher chainsawing boat,
plus the old WWALS 40lb-thrust mounted on the front.
Shawn and I demonstrated that the new motor alone will push that boat upstream
in these conditions, and both motors will troll it upstream at a walking pace.
Which is all we need to get back to the ramp from the Confluence during chainsaw cleanups.
We are awaiting a couple more items via the WGF grant. Stay tuned.
This is more preparation for the
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Saturday, March 2, 2024,
starting at Langdale Park.
One hopes that the water level will be well below Sunday’s 148′ NAVD 1988 level, or we may have to reschedule for later.
And also preparation for more chainsaw cleanups on other stretches of this and other rivers.
Next: 9AM Sunday, February 25, 2024, we will take the jon boat from Troupville Boat Ramp
down around the Confluence and up the Withlacoochee River to Langdale Park,
chainsawing any remaining paddle obstacles along the way.
That one will be a bit hard to participate in by paddling.
Phil Royce drove an hour from Live Oak, Florida,
and Gary Koch drove two hours from Ocala, Florida,
saying it was better to stop trash upstream.
In addition to regulars Russell Allen McBride and Bobby McKenzie,
Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson came to see us off; he’s second from left in the banner picture.
More on that in a later post.
These pictures are by Phil Royce.
Phil had to leave early, so his portage pictures are before we came along and sawed a river passage.
![[After heavy thunderstorms and sewage spill week, dirty creeks, but clean rivers 2024-04-17]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-17--wq/many.jpg)
![[Clean before the storm, but sewage spills during 2024-04-11: Franks and Sugar Creeks, Little, Withlacoochee, Santa Fe Rivers]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-11--wq/many.jpg)
![[Tifton, Quitman, and Valdosta thunderstorm sewage spills 2024-04-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-11--valdosta-tifton-quitman-sewage-spills/many.jpg)
![[Cancelled due to high water, Withlacoochee River Earth Day Cleanup, Langdale Park Boat Ramp, to Troupville 2024-04-13]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-04-13--withlacoochee-river-earth-day-cleanup-cancelled/fbmany.jpg)
![[Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-28--wq/many.jpg)
![[Chart, Clean Rivers, Map 2024-03-20]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-20--wq/many.jpg)
![[Why Quality Assurance is Important]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-01-06--wwals-water-quality-assurance/2023-01-06--WWALS-Water-Quality-Testing-Assurance-0001.jpg)
![[Chart, Clean Rivers and Franks Creek, Map 2024-02-28]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-28--wq/many.jpg)
![[9.9hp outboard and 86lb thrust trolling motor (thanks, Wild Green Future) and jon boat (thanks, Flint Riverkeeper) and Bass Fisher (WWALS)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-18--boat-motor-tryouts/igmany.jpg)
![[Banners, bass fisher, chain saws, Withlacoochee River, Langdale Park to Sugar Creek 2024-02-03]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-03--langdale-park-sugar-creek-chainsaw-cleanup-royce-pictures/igmany.jpg)