Tag Archives: Zacadoo’s

Getting an upgrade: Valdosta’s Lee Street Detention Pond Trash Trap 2023-02-09

Bobby McKenzie reports, “So the trash trap at Lee Street pond is getting an upgrade…”

No doubt everyone agrees with Bobby when he says, “Hope it works!”

Looking upstream, Lee St. trash trap construction, –Bobby McKenzie 2023-01-09

Valdosta Mayor Scott James on trash at Hightower Creek 2022-12-15

With a sudden break in his schedule, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson drove to see the parking lot where people park, eat their lunch, and toss their trash next to a creek.

He didn’t like it, and said so. Here’s the problem and how to fix it.

You can help by reporting trash or other problems through Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix app.

Mayor, trash, fast food, trash cans at storefronts

He had not seen this mess before, on St. Augustine Road, next to Hightower Creek. Continue reading →

Pictures: Lee St. Detention Pond Cleanup 2022-10-21

Those of us who came to the Friday morning trash reporting cleanup at Valdosta’s Lee St. Detention POnd got some bags of trash and reported a couple of Click ‘n’ Fixes.

Y’all come this afternoon, 2PM, Sunday, October 23, 2022, for another Click ‘n’ Fix reporting and cleanup, led by Bobby McKenzie. Park at Mr. B’s IGA, 1405 N Lee St., Valdosta, GA 31601. We’ll forage for trash from there.

Trash, trash trap, banners

The goal is to stop the trash before it gets into One Mile Branch, whic flows into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River. Valdosta can do what its Stormwater Permit requires and educate businesses to keep trash from escaping their parking lots. Or it can enforce Valdosta’s trash ordinances. The more people reporting such violations, the more likely something will be done.

Thanks to Mr. B for keeping the parking lot at Mr. B’s IGA pretty clean. There is room for improvement, in putting trash cans in the parking lot. He said he would consider it.

It turns out the strip of land with the drainage ditch just south of Mr. B’s IGA is Continue reading →

Sugar Creek trash boom after 1.5 inches rain 2022-06-29

Update 2022-07-05: Click ‘n’ Fix of uncleaned Sugar Creek WaterGoat 2022-06-30.

Substantial trash washed into the new WaterGoat trash boom on Sugar Creek in Valdosta after only 1.5 inches of rain yesterday.

Since then, upstream gauges recorded more than 2 inches, and some gauges around Lowndes County measured 3 and even 4 inches.

Trash composite

Valdosta needs to come up with a plan for cleaning out that trash boom, before that trash washes on down into the Withlacoochee River.. And get more trash booms and do something about upstream trash.

In good news, the Zacadoos on Ashley Street now has trash cans in its parking lot. Since we have often found Zacadoos discarded cups in the creeks, that’s really good. Yay, Zacadoos! Continue reading →

Mayor, Council, volunteers, helped WWALS clean up Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2022-05-07

Update 2023-07-22: Pictures: Sugar Creek Withlacoochee River on-land cleanup 2023-07-22.

Update 2023-05-18: Sugar Creek to Troupville, Withlacoochee River Cleanup 2023-07-22.

Update 2022-05-16: Trash at No Water No Beer 2022-05-07.

When Russell says don’t bring a boat to a cleanup, bring a boat for use as a garbage scow. Fortunately, Valdosta Mayor Scott James brought a boat. He and Council Andy Gibbs helped clean up at Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, in that Council district. We filled that kayak with trash, floated it down the river, loaded it on the Mayor’s truck, and he drove it straight to No Water No Beer at Georgia Beer Co. (his idea).

The Mayor and Phil Hubbard sawed off some deadfalls, clearing passage in the creek. Thanks to them and all the other volunteers for this cleanup. Special thanks to Russell for organizing it.

Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River, trash, Valdosta Mayor and Council

Of course, cleanups don’t solve the trash problem. Fortunately, Continue reading →

Need better trash boom on Sugar Creek 2022-03-31

WWALS has made a good try with home-made trash booms. They don’t work with heavy rains: trash goes under and over, and sometimes they come loose. Trash the boom doesn’t catch washes downstream into the Withlacoochee River, right past where Valdosta and Lowndes County propose to fund building the Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, and on to Florida.

Need stronger trash booms with nets to help fix this public health trash problem. Fortunately, several of those are available at reasonable prices.

Valdosta has spent far more money on fixing its sewage problem, with much progress (and still room for improvement). Buying a few trash traps and cleaning them out would cost less than fixing one sewer line. Stopping the trash upstream at its source in fast foot parking lots would not cost much, either, since Valdosta already has excellent trash ordinances. WWALS is discussing solutions with Valdosta.

Boom, trash caught, trash not caught

And maybe some of the obvious sources of this trash would like to be part of the solution: Jackson Hewitt, Chick-fil-A, Zacadoo’s, Polar Pop (Circle K), KFC, Bud Light (Anheuser-Busch), Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Murphy USA, Gator Aid (PepsiCo), and all those water bottle manufacturers, starting with Nestle, oh, I mean BlueTriton. Local companies or franchises can clean up their parking lots, put out trash cans, and keep emptying them. Bigger companies can sponsor trash traps and other solutions.

For a summary of the trash problem, see: https://wwals.net/issues/trash/

Boom replaced 2022-03-20

Thanks to Continue reading →

Map: Two Mile and Three Mile Branch, Valdosta 2022-02-14

Here is a map of the locations of the bridges on Two Mile Branch where I found the shopping carts, mattress, and other trash, plus Three Mile Branch. I submitted Click ‘n’ Fixes. Looking forward to the City of Valdosta cleaning up these messes, which otherwise end up in the Withlacoochee River.

For more about the Valdosta trash situation, see https://wwals.net/issues/trash/.

Map: Two Mile Branch and Three Mile Branch in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

Click ‘n’ Fix tickets:

#12091116 2615 N Ashley St, Valdosta, Georgia, 31602: Shopping buggy and trash in North Ashley Street culvert over Two Mile Branch.

Shopping buggies upstream, culvert, 16:26:09, 30.8672019, -83.2863015
#12091207: 2510 University Dr Valdosta, Georgia, 31602: Mattress in University Drive culvert over Two Mile Branch.

Mattress, downstream, The Rowell Group of Valdosta LLC, 16:33:31, 30.8682977, -83.2847482
#12091240, 2505 Seymour St Valdosta, GA, 31602: Shopping buggy and trash in Seymour Street culvert over Two Mile Branch.

Upstream Bridge with shopping buggy, 16:40:21, 30.8698463, -83.2799165

There are more pictures on the WWALS website: https://wwals.net/pictures/2022-02-14–valdosta-creeks

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Valdosta Creeks 2022-02-14

Update 2022-03-28: Map: Two Mile and Three Mile Branch, Valdosta 2022-02-14

I toured bridges on Two Mile Branch and found three in a row with shopping carts and trash. Three Mile Branch wasn’t as bad. Click ‘n’ Fixes incoming. Looking forward to the City of Valdosta cleaning up these messes, which otherwise end up in the Withlacoochee River.