Update 2023-08-02: Reschedule Retry Sugar Creek to Troupville Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-08-19.

Valdosta’s Withlacoochee River water quality results for Monday, July 31, 2023 were very bad at US 41 (North Valdosta Road) and GA 133. Bad was 12,000 cfu/100 mL of E. coli at US 41, which is twelve times the alert limit of 1,000.

There was intermittent rain over the weekend upstream from Valdosta, which probably washed contamination into the river.

Judging by the previous WWALS creek tests, most likely that contamination came down Cat Creek. More testing is needed to find out what it is.

Problem spots and context 2023-07-31

Those locations are north and west of Valdosta.

Map: Bad US 41 and GA 133, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide 2023-07-31

The test results were worse at US 41, upstream, than at GA 133, downstream of Sugar Creek, which drains about 80% of Valdosta. Thus even though we have seen bad water quality in Sugar Creek lately, it wasn’t this bad, and Sugar Creek cannot explain this US 41 result.

Map: Just US41, GA133, US 84, Withlacoochee River, Swim Guide 2023-07-31

Cat Creek comes down past the Ray City Wastewater Treatment Plant, but our previous tests indicated that is probably not the culprit, since we got high readings on Beaverdam Creek upstream of there. And we got high readings on Beatty Branch coming out of Moody AFB, but there had been no spill there.

Map: Cat Creek to US 84 Withlacoochee River in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

Only more testing, preferably adding DNA tests, will solve this riddle.

 -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/

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