David B. Pharr sang this Traditional Folk song, “Care For the Waters,” at the First Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Saturday, June 23, 2018, at the Salty Snapper, Valdosta, GA.
As he sang about the Suwannee and the other rivers: “And you may cross my bridges, But you’ll never get over me.”
Here’s the video: Continue reading
Got some deadfalls in the Withlacoochee River at Troupville, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), found once again by intrepid WWALS explorer Aaron Sirmons. Here are some pictures and a Google map.
![[Log in tree, 2018:07:14 10:02:25, 30.8495694, -83.3402911]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_100225.jpg)
Log in tree, 2018:07:14 10:02:25, 30.8495694, -83.3402911
Troupville, the old county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, was mostly west of the Withlacoochee River over to the Little River and down to its confluence, although as you can see in this map Troupville Cemetery was to the east of the Withlacoochee River.
![[Withlacoochee River at GA 133 in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/google-map.jpg)
Withlacoochee River at GA 133 in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)
This is a still image from the
interactive Google map.
WWALS did a cleanup recently down to the Confluence, by permissionon private land that is for sale. All about the history of Troupville. You could start at Troupville Boat Ramp and paddle a week downstream on the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, even in June.
![[Beavers?, 2018:07:14 10:02:45, 30.8491566, -83.3404211]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_100245.jpg)
Beavers?, 2018:07:14 10:02:45, 30.8491566, -83.3404211
Trash, River
Start of cutoff, Oxbow cutoff
Narrow, Oxbow cutoff
![[Deer stand, 2018:07:14 10:11:39, 30.8472271, -83.3428214]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_101139.jpg)
Deer stand, 2018:07:14 10:11:39, 30.8472271, -83.3428214
Reflections, Oxbow cutoff
Wider, Oxbow cutoff
Deadfall ready to block entire river, Oxbow cutoff
![[Side deadfall, 2018:07:14 10:17:13, 30.8461670, -83.3430003]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_101713.jpg)
Side deadfall, 2018:07:14 10:17:13, 30.8461670, -83.3430003
![[End of cutoff, 2018:07:14 10:18:11, 30.8467601, -83.3425382]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_101811.jpg)
End of cutoff, 2018:07:14 10:18:11, 30.8467601, -83.3425382
![[Trees, 2018:07:14 10:41:51, 30.8479584, -83.3408428]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_104151-0.jpg)
Trees, 2018:07:14 10:41:51, 30.8479584, -83.3408428
![[Power line, 2018:07:14 10:52:08, 30.8499246, -83.3400640]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_105208.jpg)
Power line, 2018:07:14 10:52:08, 30.8499246, -83.3400640
![[Submerged deadfall, 2018:07:14 11:14:34, 30.8519610, -83.3391584]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-07-21--withlacoochee-troupville/20180714_111435.jpg)
Submerged deadfall, 2018:07:14 11:14:34, 30.8519610, -83.3391584
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Follow this link for the interactive google map, or it’s also embedded below. This map also includes the deadfall upstream from I-75 of Aaron’s other report.
Update 2018-07-24: Deadfalls and an oxbow cutoff downstream by Troupville, with a map including the deadfall in this post.
Yet another deadfall in the Withlacoochee River, this one just upstream from the I-75 bridge, discovered by intrepid WWALS explorer Aaron Sirmons.
Deadfall
Finding out what’s in the rivers is part of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
More pictures: Continue reading
Tropical Storm Alberto already caused two sewage spills from Tifton, the biggest of 36,000 gallons, both into the New River upstream from the Withlacoochee, and Valdosta spilled 300,000 gallons last month, uphill from the Withlacoochee River, without even a tropical storm to blame. So preparing for a hurricane or tropical storm seems like a good idea. Maybe the various utility managers would like to say a few words about how they’re not going to be asleep at the wheel.
When: 6-8PM, Thursday, July 26, 2018
Where: 250 Douglas St, Valdosta, GA 31601-5029
Event: facebook
Join local emergency responders and Meteorologist Kerri Copello, News Manager for WFXL/Fox 31, for a tour of the EOC and an informational session on the 2018 Hurricane Season to include preparedness information.
Lowndes County EOC facebook event cover picture
More in a LAKE blog post.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Somebody asked recently whether it is possible to paddle a week on the Withlacoochee River in Georgia in June. Sure, as long as you start not too far upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), you can paddle past shoals and little-known Georgia springs into the Florida springs heartland, and then continue a day or two on the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail (SRWT). WWALS has paddled many of the most interesting stretches multiple times, often in June.
Troupville to Suwannee River Rendezvous
Here’s some history of the Withlacoochee River: fishing weirs, shoals, ghost towns, and springs.
Here is a list of access points on the Withlacoochee River with recommended water levels.
Your first put in will actually be on the Little River, slightly upstream from its confluence, at Troupville Boat Ramp.
27 April 2016, GA 122 Hahira Little River Gauge 70.9′ (140.6′ NAVD88).
Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA)
fixed the Troupville access road back in April 2016.
Photo: Julie Bowland
21 April 2018, GA 122 Hahira Little River Gauge 7.2′ (140′ NAVD88).
WWALS did a cleanup at Troupville, in which you can see our water trail signs.
See also some history of
Troupville, the previous county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia.
At Troupville Boat Ramp,
by the
signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)
that
Phil Hubbard planted yesterday (2018-04-20).
Three of the six second-magnitude springs in Georgia used to be in Brooks County, Georgia, before somebody apparently tried to Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valdosta, GA, July 2, 2017 —
In a good time with good food and good music, at the Salty Snapper in Valdosta, Saturday afternoon, June 23, 2018, three judges from Georgia and Florida deliberated a long time after six songwriters from Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida sang, and selected winners of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2018.
The WWALS Songwriting Contest Committee met many times to plan for the first annual contest. The purpose of the contest was to raise awareness of the WWALS watershed and its accomplishments. Will Eason of the Salty Snapper welcomed us, WWALS Ambassador Dave Hetzel spoke about the origins of WWALS, Board member Bret Wagenhorst spoke about Outings, Committee Chair Eileen Box spoke about the Committee, and WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman was the M.C.
Winners and Judges (Sharon Yeago), left to right:
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, WWALS E.D. and contest M.C. Gretchen Quarterman, ? (JJ), ? (JJ), Jay Jourden (JJ), Judge J.J. Rolle, Emmett Carlisle, Laura D’Alisera, Mike Tappan, Judge Cindy Bear, Dave Pharr, ? Tom Shed (JJ), Don Austin (JJ), Hollin Gammage, and the small child is next year’s contestant (JJ marks members of Jay Jourden’s band).
The finalists, who played in random order, selected by drawing straws, with sound by Will Eason and other help by Scotti Jay, were: Continue reading
Emma Wheeler, WCTV, 27 June 2018, Landowners, environmentalists celebrate ‘small victory’ over Sabal Trail,
The Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline was granted eminent domain in order to run through some of the private properties along its path. In doing so it was required to offer what the defense calls ‘just compensation.’
One Moultrie land owner was offered around $20,000 for an easement on his property. This week a jury, siding with the land owner, decided that was not enough.
Sabal Trail is now ordered to pay five times that amount, more than Continue reading
For a year and a half, Valdosta had no major sewage spills. Until yesterday. The 300,000 gallons Valdosta spilled uphill from the Withlacoochee River is far more than the 90,000 gallons Albany spilled into the Flint River a month ago, and far more than the 36,000 + 5,400 gallons Tifton spilled into the New River a few weeks ago. It’s even more than the 250,000 gallons Tifton spilled into the Little River last September during Hurricane Irma.
Sure, 300,000 is less than the millions of gallons Valdosta spilled in January 2017. And sure, Valdosta has spent tens of millions of dollars building a whole new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill out of the flood plain, and a force main, and mamy other improvements. Sure, the situation is better than it used to be, as I’ve been bragging about on the radio and in this blog recently.
But it was that same new WWTP that spilled yesterday. Sure, what spilled was mostly rainwater.
But people in the seven Florida counties downstream (or in Lowndes and Brooks Counties, Georgia downstream) are not Continue reading
Lowndes County Utilities Director Steve Stalvey wants about $20,000 for impellers and wear rings for the pumps in the Francis Lake Lift Station and about $275,000 to improve the Land Application Site (LAS), where they spray sewer waste onto a field which they then rent out for hay production (the county does not have a wastewater treatment plant).
The agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session and tomorrow evening’s voting Regular Session doesn’t say where the LAS is, but apparently it’s these two parcels nestled between Moody AFB’s Grassy Pond and the private Pike’s Pond Fishing Club, west of I-75 and Lake Park.
Parcels 0172 119 and 0204 001,
Lowndes County Tax Assessors.
Parcel 0172 119, 537.84 acres, no location address given, but Continue reading
Come hear good music this afternoon, new songs about the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, and other rivers, said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman on the radio yesterday morning with Scott James. The M.C. for today’s finals of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman, explained the raffles (kayak, swag, and silent auction), and we mentioned the buffet and cash bar at the at the Salty Snapper, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602.
You can even paddle 9AM this morning down the Withlacoochee River into Valdosta to get to the Salty Snapper.
We listed the finalists in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and described the format: speeches (especially by Will Eason of the Salty Snapper), finalists play new songs about the rivers, judges score on music, lyrics, history, etc., and finally the results of the raffles, and the prizes. We showed off the First Prize plaque, just handed to us by WWALS Board Member Phil Hubbard, who made it.
Here’s
a LAKE WWALS video playlist:
Videos: Songwriting Contest on Scott James Radio 2018-06-22
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS),
Once festival season is over today, we noted we’ll get on with the programs WWALS fundraising pays for. Such as water quality testing: Continue reading