Update 2020-03-20: Again: alert water quality at Knights Ferry, Withlacoochee River 2020-03-18.

These results are getting much closer to what we all like to see, yet there is something worrisome.

Clean before rain

Most of the river results for most of a week have been below the recommended longterm average of 126 cfu/100 mL of E. coli, and all have been below the problem level of 410. None of them even approached the 1,000 alert level, much less the too-frequently-seen TNTC. See also what do these numbers mean?

Yet this is worrisome. Yesterday as I attempted to get test water from Crooked Creek in Brooks County there was a gullywasher. We don’t have rainfall data from that precise location, but you can see some rain numbers from upstream Withlacoochee River gauges.

Okapilco Creek and rain
For context and the entire WWALS composite spreadsheet of all known data sources see https://wwals.net/issues/testing/.

Already Monday Valdosta got a 470 on Okapilco Creek downstream of Crooked Creek. It will be very interesting to see Knights Ferry numbers for today when they are available. WWALS will also be testing. You can help.

Quitman and Valdosta

You Can Help

Please continue to contact your local and state elected officials in Florida and Georgia to ask for funding and personnel for frequent (several times a week) testing at closely-spaced stations along all our rivers, with timely online publication, plus water well testing.

You can help WWALS test water quality by donating to our WWALS water quality testing program. Or maybe you know a bank or other source of larger financial support.

Suzy Hall with a Petrifilm.
Each bacterial test costs $6 for Petrifilms alone or about $8 total per test.

Maybe you want to get trained and help test; if so, follow this link.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

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