Tag Archives: VWW

Clean Withlacoochee River, filthy Crawford and Sugar Creeks 2023-07-28

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Update 2023-08-02: Very bad water quality at US 41 and GA 133 Monday 2023-07-31.

The Withlacoochee River tested good for Friday in WWALS sampling, but Crawford Branch and Sugar Creek were each above the one-time test limit for E. coli.

The Sugar Creek result is presumably due to ongoing effects from Valdosta’s July 17th 6,000 gallon sewage spill into Hightower Creek “behind the Target,” reported as at 1700 block River Street. This follows the disturbing Sugar Creek results Valdosta Utilities told us about Friday a week ago, after which we converted a cleanup paddle into an on-land cleanup.

We do not have any downstream results because the WWALS volunteer water quality testing program is short-handed this week. Maybe you’d like to become a WWALS tester; please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Rain fell hard today, but only briefly, so most of the rivers are probably OK for fishing, swimming and boating this weekend, although we have no downstream test results to tell.

I’d avoid the Withlacoochee River downstream from Sugar Creek as far as the Little River Confluence.

[Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-28]
Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-28

The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Wednesday two weeks ago downstream. For Monday Valdosta got way-too-high results for US 41 Continue reading →

Valdosta notified GA-EPD four days after the latest Knights Creek sewage spill 2023-07-06

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Update 2023-07-29: Clean Withlacoochee River, filthy Crawford and Sugar Creeks 2023-07-28.

That word “immediately,” I don’t think it means wait yet another day before informing the public, after Valdosta Utilities already waited four days to tell GA-EPD about the sewage spill.

Even though Valdosta wrote to GA-EPD, “we did not observe any direct flow to the creek,” Valdosta’s own state-required followup testing showed too-high Fecal coliform and E. coli in Knights Creek a week later, downstream, but not upstream, of the spill. Just because they didn’t see the sewage running over the ground doesn’t mean it’s not seeping through the vegetation or the ground itself.

Maybe you’re as tired as I am of Valdosta blaming sewage spills on contractors. Who hires the contractors? Who supervises them? Why doesn’t Valdosta’s fancy SCADA system alert the city to these spills early, where, when, and how much?

The information seemed pretty skimpy that Valdosta Utilities supplied to the public about its July 6, 2023, sewage spill into Knights Creek. Also, I wanted to know when did Valdosta tell GA-EPD, since that spill did not show up in GA-EPD’s Sewage Spills Report for a long time, Not until after I asked GA-EPD about it, actually, even though Valdosta City Manager Richard Hardy had said he would look into that.

So I filed an open records request with the City of Valdosta for all communications between Valdosta and GA-EPD about Valdosta’s last three sewage spills. I only got back information about the Knights Creek spill, so here is that much.

[Where, When, After: Valdosta's Knights Creek Sewage Spill 2023-07-06]
Where, When, After: Valdosta’s Knights Creek Sewage Spill 2023-07-06

Let me say that recent communications from Valdosta Utilities have been much improved in recent days, coming from Assistant Director Jason Barnes. Barnes took it upon himself to warn WWALS about contamination in Sugar Creek before the cleanup paddle we had scheduled for last Saturday, so we converted it into an on-land cleanup. That elevated Fecal coliform and E. coli came from Valdosta’s July 17, 2023, spill into Hightower Creek near River Street, upstream from Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River. Reporting for that July 17th spill was much better: a press release went out the next day, and it also appeared in GA-EPD’s Sewage Spills Report the day after the spill. And Jason Barnes showed up in person to see about getting a warning sign placed at Sugar Creek.

Back to the July 6, 2023, spill into Knights Creek, above Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River.

Utilities Director Bradley L. Eyre did not write to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) until July 10th, four days after the spill was discovered on July 6th. Continue reading →

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

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Thanks to Russell Allen McBride for leading the rerouted on-land Sugar Creek and mostly Withlacoochee River cleanup. Children and experienced adults teamed up to get the job done. We found only one big trash jam and we cleaned that one up.

Phil Hubbard came with boat and chainsaws ready to do a chainsaw cleanup, but due to the reroute there was no chainsawing.

We thanked Valdosta Assistant Utilities Director Jason Barnes for alerting us to the sewage spill contamination in Sugar Creek that caused us to reroute from a cleanup paddle to an on-land cleanup. He arrived before we left, so we thanked him again in person.

[Before, WaterGoat, Trashjam, Level log, after, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2023-07-22]
Before, WaterGoat, Trashjam, Level log, after, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2023-07-22

Yes, Vivian, there could be alligators. Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage spills bad for people, wildlife, economy –Suwannee Riverkeeper on WTXL.TV 2023-07-21

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Update 2023-07-24: Redesignation as Recreational, Withlacoochee River, GA 37 to Tiger Creek 2023-07-19

Suwannee Riverkeeper about Valdosta sewage spills yesterday on WTXL.TV, “It’s bad for people, it’s bad for wild life, it’s also bad for the economy. Valdosta is trying to be a place for ecotourism, and you’re not really helping that if you have sewage spills, if you have trash in the creeks and rivers,” [John S.] Quarterman said.

Come to Sugar Creek behind the Salty Snapper this morning at 9AM and hear more.

[Reporter, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Valdosta Utilities Director 2023-07-21]
Reporter, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Valdosta Utilities Director 2023-07-21

Ariel Schiller, ABC27 WTXL, July 21, 2023, City of Valdosta working to fix outdated sewer system, Continue reading →

Valdosta City Manager, sewage spills, and trash 2023-07-18

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After I complimented them quite a bit yesterday, I fear I must do so again today: Valdosta City Manager Richard Hardy and Assistant City Manager Catherine Ammons.

Yet there is still room for improvement on sewage spills, and ample room on trash and Click ‘n’ Fix, as well as generally on letting the public know what the city of Valdosta is doing to fix problems that affect waterways and the public.

[Valdosta officials and recent sewage spill reports 2023-07-19]
Valdosta officials and recent sewage spill reports 2023-07-19

Not only did they get a press release out for yesterday’s sewage spill the day after the spill. After I sent GA-EPD that WWALS blog post, the state replied at 8 AM this morning saying that spill was in today’s GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. Indeed it is, and already picked up by the WWALS automated software and on the WWALS website.

The Assistant City Manager asked what I thought a reasonable time was to get a press release out about a sewage spill, and I answered that specific question (certainly not five days, and as soon as the city knows what’s happening).

Here’s the answer I should have given, since it’s not what I think, it’s who we are all trying to protect. People who fish, swim, or boat on the river or in the creeks need to know when there is a health hazard. So as quickly as practically possible, preferably by the day after the spill, or even the same day. Especially for weekends, when the most people do those things, please get the press release out before the weekend, and that does not mean after 5 PM on Friday. Plus post it on the city’s website and on the city’s own social media.

As I promised in the meeting with the city officials yesterday, I have filed an open records request for the letters Valdosta sent GA-EPD informing them of those spills. We’ll see where the long delay was on the previous spill reports.

More about sewage spills

Continue reading →

Another Valdosta River Street Spill into Hightower Creek 2023-07-17

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Update 2023-07-21: Clean Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers, but warning 2023-07-20.

At least they got the press release out in a more timely manner this time: only the day after the sewage spill. They also included an estimated number of gallons and a sort of precise location, as well as a cause of the spill.

[Map: 1700 River Street into Hightower Creek in WLRWT]
Map: 1700 River Street into Hightower Creek, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River
in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

Speaking of cause, notice no mention of rain, which is probably because there was no significant rain on Valdosta Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

Indeed, rain can cause sewage spills, but Valdosta does not seem to have many of those these days, and that’s a good thing. However, Valdosta still has spills for other reasons, mostly related to sewer system infrastructure that was not updated for decades. In recent years the city has spent upwards of $100 million on sewer system fixes, but there is still a long way to go.

This 6,000 gallon sewage spill is in the same place as a 1,170 gallon spill on February 8, 2023.

The Valdosta press release does not name “the creek”, but it’s a branch of Hightower Creek, which runs into Sugar Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and then the Suwannee River. I wonder if the erosion was partly caused by the previous spill.

WWALS received this press release from Valdosta at 5:16 PM today. Which is interesting, because I was in a meeting with City Manager Richard Hardy and Assistant City Manager Catherine Ammons from 2:15 to almost 3 PM, with one of the topics discussed being sewage spills, and they did not mention this spill.

One thing I mentioned to them was that the two previous Valdosta spills (into Knights Creek and into One Mile Branch) finally showed up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report yesterday, after I asked the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) why they had not already appeared. We shall see how long this one takes to show up there.

The Valdosta Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2023 Continue reading →

Knights Creek tested too high for E. coli before Valdosta reported the latest spill 2023-07-10

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Update 2023-07-26: Valdosta notified GA-EPD four days after the latest Knights Creek sewage spill 2023-07-06.

Update 2023-07-18: Another Valdosta River Street Spill into Hightower Creek 2023-07-17.

Valdosta’s own water quality tests of Knights Creek showed way too high E. coli for the day before Valdosta’s press release about its most recent sewage spill into Knights Creek.

[Map and Report]
Map and Report

I don’t know whether these tests were done by Valdosta’s downstream testing contractors or by their in-house people. If the latter, it seems likely that Valdosta knew of these Monday results before the city issued a press release the next day at 6:24 PM Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Yet there is no mention of them in the press release.

Valdosta got even higher results for March 29th, with a note: “Possible cause of high results on 3/29 was substantial rainfall in area.”

But Valdosta also got too-high results for March 30th (above the one-time test limit of 410), on June 13th (above the alert limit of 1,000), and on June 21st (above the one-time test limit). I’m not finding records of rain on Valdosta at all these dates. Plus if that was the cause, why are the too-high results all only for the BELOW location and not the ABOVE location? Has Valdosta had more sewage spills than they have reported?

Speaking of reported, neither this spill nor Valdosta’s previous spill have shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. I have asked GA-EPD about that.

These Knights Creek test results are according to data on the city of Valdosta Utilties Department web pages, 2023 Knight’s Creek Biological Monitoring Results. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-07-13

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The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

There was rain today, and more is expected tomorrow, so contamination could wash into the rivers.

No sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

So fish, swim, and boat at your own risk this weekend.

Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow, Withlacoochee Springs and Slough, Sullivan Launch 2023-07-15.

[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-13]
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-13

Valdosta’s major spill of 2023-07-06 still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager two weeks ago promised to look into that.

Ashburn had three spills two weeks ago, one of them major, all finally reported this Wednesday. We’ll post a writeup on those later. Continue reading →

Yet another Valdosta sewage spill, five days ago, at 1800 E. Park Ave., Knights Creek 2023-07-06

2023-07-17: Knights Creek tested too high for E. coli before Valdosta reported the latest spill 2023-07-10.

Update 2023-07-14: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-07-13.

Obviously informing the public of dangers to public health is not a top priority of the City of Valdosta.

[Map: 1800 E. Park Avenue and Knights Creek in ARWT]
Map: 1800 E. Park Avenue and Knights Creek
in the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT)

Valdosta spilled 194,251 gallons of raw sewage, starting about five days ago, and today they get around to telling the public at 6:24 PM.

That’s more than 10,000 gallons, which means it is a major spill.

At least this time, unlike last sewage spill, Valdosta bothered to say how many gallons and a relatively precise location. Yet this spill is not in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, and that last one still is not.

There was no need to put another marker on the ARWT map for this most recent spill, because it is the same location as the series of spills this February. Unlike in February, this today’s press release does name Knights Creek. It does not say Knights Creek flows into Mud Swamp Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River, then the Suwannee River to the Gulf.

Still, five days to inform the public? Why, Valdosta? Continue reading →

Clean Little and Withlacoochee River 2023-07-06

Update 2023-07-11: Yet another Valdosta sewage spill, five days ago, at 1800 E. Park Ave., Knights Creek 2023-07-06.

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

There’s been hardly any rain this week to wash any contamination into the river.

No rain is predicted until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.

No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-06]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-06

The most recent Valdosta results we have are for Wednesday upstream and Monday downstream. They are all good.

Valdosta did see an odd too-high spike in E. coli at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River for Monday, but by Wednesday it was back down.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager a week ago promised to look into that. Continue reading →