Tag Archives: WLRWT

WWALS at Pride in Hahira 2024-06-01

Update 2025-01-19: Pictures: WWALS at Hahira Pride 2024-06-01.

Join us Saturday afternoon in Hahira, at Music and Art on Main, this one by South Georgia Pride.

We’ll be talking about outings, advocacy, and the WWALS River Revue.

[WWALS Booth at Pride in Hahira 2024-06-01, Music and Art on Main, South Georgia Pride]
WWALS Booth at Pride in Hahira 2024-06-01, Music and Art on Main, South Georgia Pride

That’s 2-7 PM, Saturday, June 1, 2024, at the City of Hahira Depot, 220 W. Main Street.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/813295534069014/

Thanks to Rindy Kennedy for organizing our participation at this event.

This is on the WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail. Hahira is about in the middle between Folsom Bridge on the Little River to the west and Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River to the east, around 8 miles either way.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, 2024-06-08

Updagte 2024-08-21: Pictures: Sullivan Launch to Madison Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2024-06-08.

Paddle 12.5 miles from Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp, between Hamilton and Madison Counties, Florida. There will be springs to swim in and shoals to paddle through, also several other interesting features along the river.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, June 8, 2024

Put In: Sullivan Launch, aka CR 150 Bridge Launch (FDEP). From Pinetta, Madison County, FL, travel east on CR 150; turn right at the bridge and follow road to the launch south of the river bridge.

GPS: 30.595667, -83.26

[Sullivan Launch to Madison Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2024-06-08, Hardee Spring, Madison Blue Spring]
Sullivan Launch to Madison Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2024-06-08, Hardee Spring, Madison Blue Spring

Continue reading →

Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots: Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2024-05-07

For years WWALS has been promoting work by Russell Allen McBride and others to clean up Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots, Valdosta, GA, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River]
Trash traps, detention ponds, and parking lots, Valdosta, GA, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River

Russell’s net full of trash is the top graphic on the WWALS trash issue page:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash/ Continue reading →

Happy Hippy Outfitters 2024-04-10

Dropped by Happy Hippy Outfitters as they were painting the sign on the front window.

[Happy Hippy Outfitters, Now open 2024-04-10, 3133 N Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602, Five Points Shopping Center]
Happy Hippy Outfitters, Now open 2024-04-10, 3133 N Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602, Five Points Shopping Center

Find them facebook, or in Five Points mall, 3133 N Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602. Continue reading →

Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River –Amanda Davis 2024-05-03

Update 2024-05-08: Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2024-06-08.

Usually, Withlacoochee River water flows into this distributary into a sinkhole. But last Tuesday water was coming out into the river from the Chitty Bend East Distributary. So this swallet changed from a sink to a spring, and the creek changed from a distributary to a tributary.

[Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River 2024-04-30, Pumping out a stream --Amanda Davis]
Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River 2024-04-30, Pumping out a stream –Amanda Davis

Amanda Davis sent these videos that she took on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, when the Pinetta gauge was about 55.8 NAVD88.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UCE7siKv_ME

This is in Hamilton County, Florida, upstream from Florida Campsites Ramp and Madison Blue Spring.

WWALS last paddled in there Continue reading →

Videos: Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River, 2023-07-15

Update 2024-05-05: Chitty Bend East Distributary, Withlacoochee River –Amanda Davis 2024-04-30.

Here is a video and some pictures of Chitty Bend East Distributary, on the Withlacoochee River, where some of the river runs into the woods into some swallets.

That’s between Sullivan Launch and Florida Campsites Ramp, in Twin Rivers State Forest, in Hamilton County, Florida.

Here is the video:
https://youtu.be/kGumuF2thp0?si=EIUB_0w2bAaOUNA1

Or on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/979960170155353

Or on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6j67u3IkE4/

We were on a WWALS outing led by Gee Edwards. The water level was about 54.10 NAVD88 on the Pinetta Gauge.

Some pictures are below. Continue reading →

Video: Chainsaw Cleanups –Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar 2024-04-11

Phil Hubbard, longtime WWALS paddle outings leader, on March 11, 2024, told us why he started a series of chainsaw cleanups two years ago.

He and his son paddled down the Withlacoochee River and encountered more than 20 deadfalls they had to portage. That was Father’s Day, June 19, 2016. He didn’t even know Langdale Park existed before then. They got to Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River after dark. He joined WWALS to find a way to deal with the deadfalls.

[Video: Chainsaw Outings, --Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar, 2024-04-11]
Video: Chainsaw Outings, –Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar, 2024-04-11

We have done 21 chainsaw cleanups on the Withlacoochee River, including during the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle this year. Phil thinks with a few more at low water, it will be good. The stretch from Langdale Park down past Sugar Creek, around the Little River Confluence and up to Troupville Boat Ramp will be a nice paddle that anybody can do.

Here is the zoom video of this WWALS Webinar about Chainsaw Cleanups by Phil Hubbard:
https://youtu.be/DhjtzsBncOw?si=0zgQX6L04vllB7jV

WWALS also did two chainsaw cleanups on the Suwannee River and one on the Little River. Here are all the ones we can remember: Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage on Madison County Commission agenda 2024-04-24

It’s the last item, under NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Discussion Regarding Valdosta Sewage Spill and Compliance with Consent Order — Commissioner Waldrep.

That’s at the Madison County Commission Regular Meeting, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Courthouse Annex, 229 SW Pinckney St., Room 107, Madison, Florida.

[Valdosta sewage at Madison County Commission, Commissioner Donnie Waldrep 2024-04-24]
Valdosta sewage at Madison County Commission, Commissioner Donnie Waldrep 2024-04-24

According to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson just now, “Wastewater, Engineering and City Manager meeting is 9:15 Tuesday morning to discuss increased capacity options.”

I asked if the public is invited. He answered, “No, I will report results to you….”

Valdosta is working hard on upgrading its dilapidated sewer system infrastructure, using local taxes and a Georgia state loan. They’ve spent more than $100 million dollars already.

Valdosta was pretty timely in telling the public about its nine other recent sewage spills.

But Continue reading →

Earth Day: Planet vs. Plastics 2024-04-20

Trash cleanups are good, but you wouldn’t clean up after a sewer spill and do nothing to stop it from happening again. You wouldn’t be happy with any city or county that let spills keep happening.

You can help stop trash from getting into our waterways by getting cities to enforce trash ordinances about parking lots and trash cans, by getting trash traps installed on creeks, and by asking for single-use packaging bans and bottle bills. Start by bringing your own reusable grocery bags, but don’t stop there.

The Global Earth Day theme for 2024 is Our Planet Versus Plastics.

[Earth Day 2024, Planet vs. Plastics 2024-04-20, Trash cans, Trash traps, cleanups, Plastic bans and bottle bills]
Earth Day 2024, Planet vs. Plastics 2024-04-20, Trash cans, Trash traps, cleanups, Plastic bans and bottle bills

Styrofoam and other plastics are not just an eyesore. These plastics from Valdosta and elsewhere entering the watersheds are breaking down and getting into all aspects of the environment. Animals eat them, and cannot digest them. Children play in creeks with this stuff. Adults don’t want to boat on rivers with floating trashjams. It’s hard to promote eco-tourism without fixing the trash problem. Sure, we go clean it out of the rivers, and you can help us with that, but that alone is not enough. Continue reading →

Valdosta spilled 6.7 million gallons including 1.34 million gallons raw sewage 2024-04-12

Update 2024-04-18: Updates on Homerville, Quitman, Tifton, and Valdosta in GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report 2024-04-11.

Update 2024-04-17: Madison County, Florida, Health advisory for Withlacoochee River about Valdosta sewage spill 2024-04-17.

Update 2024-04-15: Homerville, Rochelle, and Tifton sewage spills 2024-04-11.

Valdosta says of the 6.7 million gallons of liquid that overflowed from its catch basin, 20% was “conventional sewage”, so that’s 1.34 million gallons of raw sewage.

[Valdosta spilled 6.7 million gallons, including 1.34 million gallons raw sewage, Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, Spring Branch 2024-04-12-14]
Valdosta spilled 6.7 million gallons, including 1.34 million gallons raw sewage, Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, Spring Branch 2024-04-12-14

The press release says the City of Valdosta knew about it Friday morning, and the spill stopped Sunday morning, yet Valdosta did not tell the public until Monday, this morning.

That’s from the equalization (EQ) basin at the entrance to the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The one Valdosta built while never revealing how they picked its size. The one with two creeks flowing to the Withlacoochee River, at least one of which is filthy. Continue reading →