About 7 miles north of the Lowndes County Courthouse in Valdosta, Georgia,
you can get to the Withlacoochee River at the new(-ish)
Staten Road Bridge,
30.9324760, -83.2883453.
This is at Mile 73.3 on the
Withlacoochee River Water Trail.
From Valdosta, go north up Oak Street until Continue reading
Per agreement just received from VSU, at least three local artists will have art for sale in a silent auction, in addition to on exhibit, at the February 27th Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail Workshop! A portion of the proceeds will go to support WWALS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Painting by Julie Bowland
near the confluence of the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers,
2 July 2015.
The exhibit and auction will include drawings and oil paintings by Julie Bowland, photographs by Dominick Gheesling and photographs by Bryan Garris. Guests will have an opportunity to bid on the art, as well as other items, during the workshop, with the winning bids announced towards the end of the event.
Other artists are encouraged to participate, and if you’ve got Continue reading
The FERC FEIS isn’t a permit, the Army Corps hasn’t issued a permit, GA-EPD is still considering an air quality permit for the Albany, GA air compressor, and it’s still possible to stop the GA-DNR easements for drilling under Georgia rivers including the Withlacoochee and Okapilco Creek. This is all regardless of whether FDEP issues its drilling permit for the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers. You can still help stop this invasion by the “Sinkhole Trail” of our local lands, water, and air.
Among the press recently by Politico, Law360, Natural Gas Intelligence, the Suwannee Democrat, the Ocala StarBanner, the Palm Beach Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Valdosta Today, and others, is this long local piece. Joe Adgie, Valdosta Daily Times, 20 December 2015, EPA reverses stand on impact pipeline would have on aquifer,
In addition, according to FERC, Sabal completed analysis of the subsurfaces where the pipeline is proposed.
That’s what FERC’s announcement of its Final Environmental Impact Statment (FEIS) said, but where is the LiDAR, as Continue reading
EPA stepped back, while opposition ramps up against Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
Hahira and Albany, Georgia, December 18, 2015— (PDF) Mysteriously contradicting a substantive October letter from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 in Atlanta, a different EPA branch last Friday sent a brief and sketchy letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uncritically accepting what Sabal Trail’s attorney’s told it, even as multiple environmental and landowner organizations filed objections with the Corps and multiple state agencies against that invading natural gas pipeline.
Tim Carroll, Valdosta City Council member, said, “I don’t understand how EPA and FERC can say there will not be a negative impact on our environment, aquifer, streams and rivers. A number of experts testified and spoke up saying the likelihood is very high that there could be damage to the aquifer and the environment. Why would we want to allow this to happen, to run the risk of seriously degrading one of the best water resources in the world.,” Valdosta, Moultrie, and Albany, the three biggest cities along the pipeline path in Georgia, all passed resolutions against Sabal Trail, as did the counties of Terrell, Dougherty, Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes, in Georgia, and Hamilton and Suwannee Counties in Florida.
“The one government agency actually defending our drinking in the Floridan Aquifer and the many rivers in Georgia and Florida just stifled itself,” Continue reading
Update 2015-02-13: Press release with revised agenda.
Update 2015-12-23: Now with silent art auction!
The visual beauty of the rivers in an art exhibit and silent auction,
the geology on display by Dennis Price,
and the remains of past people and cultures still visible along the river
by Tom Baird, plus the winners of the
logo contest for the
Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail presented by VSU art professor Julie Bowland,
all in a workshop about two of our biggest WWALS rivers,
Okapilco Creek, Piscola Creek, and other associated creeks, lakes, ponds, and swamps.
Logo contest deadline now extended to January 15th, 2016!
Facebook: event
Meetup: event
What: Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail Workshop
When: 1:30 PM-4:30PM
Saturday, February 27th, 2016
Where: UC Theater
University Center
Valdosta State University
1215 N. Patterson St.
Valdosta, GA 31698
All the Suwannee River Basin USGS gages in Georgia just got a new flood level reporting system (except they missed one).
They’ve added a level measurement from sea level,
probably not coincidentally about the same as the Florida gages
added a level measurement from dry riverbed,
so both Georgia and Florida gages now have both measurements.
This actually does not affect the WWALS level charts for the
Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail
nor for the
Alapaha River Water Trail,
because those continue to display water levels from dry riverbed.
To see this change at all, you have to drill down to the USGS detail pages,
for example on the Withlacoochee River
at Skipper Bridge Road in Georgia,
or
near Pinetta, Florida.
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Tallahassee, FL, unknown date, Suwannee River Basin Datum Changes in South Central Georgia,
Starting on October 14, 2015, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee and Jacksonville will make adjustments to the reporting method for water level in the Suwannee River System. This includes river gages in the following rivers or creeks: Continue reading
Update 2016-04-03: Extra Withlacoochee outing by popular demand.
Coming up soon!
See the WWALS calendar for any more events already scheduled.
All these outings are in Georgia. Which is a switch, since Continue reading
We saw the ruins in October; here’s a picture when it was still standing.
Picture from
Hamilton County, by
Marsanne Petty,
on
page 13 (Richard McCulley); found by Chris Mericle.
The caption reads: Continue reading
What crosses Lee Street and Gornton Road heading to the
Withlacoochee River? 
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
The invading pipeline would pass within about one mile of Clyattville Elementary School
where it would cross
Clyatt Mill Creek and then Railroad Avenue, at about
30.680638, -83.326501.
This would be after crossing the Withlacoochee River from Brooks into Lowndes Counties just north of US 84, and before crossing Jumping Gulley Creek and the state line into Hamilton County Florida, where the hearing was held in Jennings for WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP.
You can see the general route in the Cover Map. After crossing the Withlacoochee River, Sabal Trail would cross Martin Lane and Tiger Creek, then Continue reading