Update 2022-05-20: Clean Rivers again 2022-05-19.

WWALS got good results on five rivers from samples Thursday. No significant rain is predicted. No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia. So happy swimming, boating, and fishing on the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Ichetucknee, and Santa Fe Rivers!

Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide

These samples are of course only from a few locations, so they cannot give the condition of the entire rivers. Still, they’re a pretty good indication.

The only red thumb sticking out is at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, where for Monday Valdosta got way too high E. coli. Since there was no rain recorded upstream, that looks like the old problem of somebody dumping something in the river. Probably it has washed away and gotten diluted by now. But we have no more recent tests at that location to tell. Some time next week Valdosta will publish the rest of their results for this week, and then we’ll know.

Clean Rivers, Charts 2022-05-12
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing

Thanks to Elizabeth Brunner for her three GA 122 Thursday samples, from Folsom Bridge on the Little River, Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River, and Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River.

Thanks to Gus Cleary for his farther downstream Withlacoochee River sample at Cleary Bluff, downstream from Allen Ramp.

I’ve marked all the WWALS “beaches” green on Swim Guide, except GA 133 (see above).

Also, I’ve panned the map southwards this time, to show Ichetucknee State Park in the far lower right corner. Thanks to Pam Dicker and the TREPO crew for testing at Hodor Park and Point Park on the Ichetucknee River, and at Taco Hut slightly upstream on the Santa Fe River.

Map: Clean Rivers, Swim Guide 2022-05-12

There are more pictures on the WWALS website.

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for a generous grant for water quality testing equipment and materials.

You or your organization could also donate to the WWALS volunteer water quality testing program.

Or maybe you’d like to become a WWALS water quality tester; please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

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