The Southern Georgia Regional Commission invites you to
contact them
about agricultural
runoff. WWALS is concerned with how industrial
farming and clear cutting affects both water quality and quantity in
our watershed.
The pictured example of runoff from a cotton field was in Berrien County
yesterday.
While rain was pouring down, it ran half way across the road, and
two cars wrecked.
Once it gets across the road, either over it or through the culvert,
it runs into the Withlacoochee River.
As Pesticide Action Network reminds us,
“Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop.”
The June WWALS outing is from Clyattville-Nankin Road to Horn Bridge on
Madison Highway (GA 31) on the Withlacoochee River.
Meet at the Clyattville-Nankin Road putin at 9AM, put in at 10AM, Saturday, 22 June 2013.
Join the
facebook event if you like.
See you there!
Update 20 June 2013:
How are we getting back to our vehicles with this trip?
We’ll deposit all the boats at
the put-in (Clyattville-Nankin Road), take most of the vehicles
down to the take-out (Horn Bridge on Madison Highway aka GA 31),
carpool in a few vehicles back to the put-in, and float down the river.
Tom Baird described this nine-mile two-hour trip as:
The section
includes where Clyatt Mill Creek enters, a truly fun set of rapids (two
drops) at the Ga – Fla border, a very nice Second Magnitude Spring (that I
have yet to find the correct name), the remains of the enormous abandoned
trestle over the river of the Georgia & Florida Railroad,
or Ole God
Forsaken as it was nicknamed, the ghost town of Olympia on the Georgia side,
and several Indian quarry sites. It is along this section that the river
cuts deeply enough that the banks switch from sand banks to limerock cliffs.
Paddle distance is about 9 miles, so a little over two hours paddling time.
There are plenty of places to stop and look around.
There are shoals right at the state line, so beware, esp. if you’re in a canoe.
The book Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, by Susanne Welander, Bob Sehlinger, and Don Otey (2004) says: Continue reading →
Water issues strongly affect economic development, so I talked about
the new WWALS Watershed Coalition at the
16 April 2013 Board Meeting
of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.
The VDT declined to speak, so I did.
After apologizing for no okra today,
I commended the Authority for talking about the missing agenda items
and for mentioning due diligence and flood control.
WWALS board meetings are every second Wednesday of the month,
usually at the IHOP in Adel because it’s centrally located.
WWALS is communicating with Valdosta and
various organizations about
flooding and other watershed-wide issues, which in my opinion
have to do with things like too much clearcutting without
consideration for where the water goes, too much development
without consideration for what the impervious surface would do,
(to my surprise, the Executive Director and several board
members nodded along with that)
so it was good to hear them mention flood containment.
Arsenic, Outings, and Flooding: WWALS Watershed Coalition
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland, Chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton, Attorney, Tom Davis, CPA, Allan Ricketts, Project Manager,S. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Lu Williams, Operations Manager,
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 16 April 2013.
Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll spoke about the need for watershed-wide
planning to reduce flooding and provide water for agriculture with
distributed flood containment reservoirs.
He
referred to
the
materials he sent in advance
as well as to some additional data about water quality measurements
upstream and downstream of selected points.
And he sent an update the next day.
Valdosta City Council member Tim Carroll will speak tonight
at the monthly WWALS Watershed Coalition board meeting
at 7:30 PM at the IHOP in Adel (exit 39 from I-75, 1200 W 4th St, Adel, GA, 229-896-2662); the public is invited.
In advance he sent the appended letter from the City of Valdosta
to the Army Corps of Engineers requesting assistance related to
flooding and droughts.
March 11, 2013
William Bailey
Chief of Planning Division
US Army Corps of Engineers – Savannah District Office
100 W. Oglethorpe Avenue
Savannah, Georgia 31401
Dear Mr. Bailey,
Over the last several years, the City of Valdosta and neighboring
communities have been severely impacted by the increase of flood
events that have occurred throughout our region and particularly the
drainage basin we are located in. The city recognizes the various
levels of responsibility throughout government agencies for flood
management and flood control and is interested in furthering the
discussions to understand the changes that are occurring and to
ensure the protection of our communities from future flood events.
In February 2009, the city began updating its 1996 Master Stormwater
Management Plan. In April, just two months later, our county along
with 46 counties in south Georgia, experienced historic flooding and
were declared disaster areas. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) reported
28 February 2013:
River Flooding
Standing on his cabin deck, you can see the river rushing by.
3:45 PM 1 March 2013:
Flooding in south Georgia
He reported the river was cresting, about 2 inches below his cabin deck, and he recommended against anybody canoing in the river
due to its speed.
The pictured example of runoff from a cotton field was in Berrien County
yesterday.
While rain was pouring down, it ran half way across the road, and
two cars wrecked.
Once it gets across the road, either over it or through the culvert,
it runs into the Withlacoochee River.
As Pesticide Action Network reminds us,
“Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop.”
