Update 2020-09-16: Bad lower Suwannee, good Withlacoochee and Alapaha 2020-09-14.

Results look good from the Alapaha River Saturday, at Berrien Beach and Lakeland Boat Ramp. Florida Thursday Withlacoochee River results corroborate the WWALS State Line results of that same Thursday we reported last time, and extend them downstream into Florida, also good.

However, more than half an inch of rain fell on Okapilco Creek Thursday, 0.75″ at Spence Field east of Moultrie, and also 0.6″ at Dixie in the west of Brooks County. Is that enough to wash some manure into the creek? We shall see.

Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers

Berrien Beach

After the Berrien Beach Boat Ramp (and Beach) cleanup, I collected a sample at Berrien Beach, just downstream and across the river in Lanier County from Berrien Beach Boat Ramp in Berrien County.

Berrien Beach

Colors were a bit difficult to distinguish for the colonies with bubbles, but with a bright enough light there was only one blue one. So the result is 33 cfu/100 mL E. coli, which is very good.

33 cfu/100 mL, Berrien Beach 2020-09-12

Lakeland Boat Ramp

Since I was coming back through Lakeland anyway, I threw a bucket in just east of town at Lakeland Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River at GA 122.

Upstream

Once again, there was only one blue bubble colony, so 33 cfu/100 mL E. coli, which is very good.

33 cfu/100 mL, Lakeland Boat Ramp 2020-09-12

Withlacoochee River

As noted in the previous blog post, WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach got excellent results for Thursday on the Withlacoochee River.

Withlacoochee River: Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps 2020-09-10

Specifically, they got 33 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, and zero (0) at Nankin and State Line Boat Ramps.

33 cfu/100 mL, Knights Ferry Boat Ramp 2020-09-10

That same Thursday, Madison Health got 10 at State line, zero (0) at CR 150 (Sullivan Launch), and 52 at FL 6 (just above Madison Blue Spring). The Florida laboratory methods provide more precision than the WWALS and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Petrifilm method, but you can see all these Withlacoochee River results are in the same very low range.

So all the Withlacoochee River “beaches” remain green on Swim Guide.

For the complete WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida water quality testing results and rainfall and other context, see:
wwals.net/issues/testing/

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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