Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited
flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex.
Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new
force main to prevent manhole overflows, and
maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there.
This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta,
not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers
and downstream: that will take more funding.
People
downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.
Tag Archives: sewage
VDT has selective smell
To the VDT the county government always smells like azaleas
and the city of Valdosta government always smells like sewage.
The local newspaper of record doesn’t seem to smell sewage
or landfill problems from Lowndes County.
Today’s VDT editorial complains about
environmental groups paying attention to “theoretical disasters”
(presumably referring to the Sabal Trail pipeline),
yet the VDT has never covered the group that has
most consistently followed the watershed-wide
flooding issues that cause Valdosta’s flooding problems:
WWALS Watershed Coalition.
The VDT recommends citizens get more involved
in sniffing out Valdosta’s sewage problems, yet it doesn’t seem
to cover Citizens Wishing To Be Heard anymore, nor has the VDT called
for the citizen participation sessions promised by
the local governments for the Army Corps of Engineers flooding studies.
Maybe the VDT could encourage citizen participation, rather than ignore it.
VDT editorial today, It just plain stinks, Continue reading
Florida tired of Valdosta’s WWTP spills
Once again, Valdosta famous into Florida again for wastewater spill, and Florida residents are tired of it.
WCTV 1 March 2014, Georgia Spill Leads To Warning In Florida
[Matt] Meersman and his friends enjoy visiting the Suwannee River to train for canoe races. According to the City of Valdosta, heavy rains have caused about 7.5 million gallons of highly treated waste water to wash into the Withlacoochee River, which connects to the Suwannee. Signs are posted around the Suwannee River State Park to let people know about the possible dangers of swimming in the water.
“When it’s impacted by stuff like this, it makes it hard on us to think about it as the pristine place that we like to think of it as,” said Meersman.
Meersman says there are other rivers around the area they can practice on in the meantime, but he says he’s tired of the spills.
“It’s bad enough Continue reading
Citizens sue city about sewage
I wonder who else is sick of sewage?
AP, today, Sick Of Spewing Sewage, Georgia Neighbors File Lawsuit,
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division responded to a Rochelle resident’s complaint of waste spewing across portions of a 10-block area in March. The agency concluded there had been a major spill of more than 10,000 gallons of raw sewage. A March 29 letter from state regulators says Rochelle city officials were aware of “frequent spill events” in the past but had made “minimal to no progress” in fixing the problems.
The complaint and the lawsuit both started with 67-year-old John Jackson, a retired Rochelle city maintenance worker who reached out to state regulators and the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice. The firm filed suit on behalf of him and seven co-plaintiffs.
Well, of course our local
county seat
and county
here are working on fixing their sewage problems…. Continue reading
Raw sewage into the Withlacoochee River again
Valdosta (update: it was Lowndes County’s spill) is famous in Florida again for sewage in our rivers.
Last month it was flooding at the Withlacoochee Wastwater Treatment Plant. This month it’s a broken sewer line. WTXL reported yesterday, Sewer line burst in Valdosta — Sewage spewing into river,
Nine hundred gallons of sewage is spewing onto the ground and into the Withlacoochee river, every single minute.
Here’s Valdosta’s Report of Major Spill from yesterday:
Continue readingValdosta PR about wastewater issues
The city of Valdosta responds. I have decorated this PR with a few images with links, and a few comments after it. -jsq
Mayor and Council Address Recent Wastewater Issues,
Continue readingThe Valdosta Mayor and City Council are committed to providing quality municipal services that meet the expectations of our citizens. In addition to providing fire and police protection and other beneficial quality of life services, the city leadership is equally committed to providing adequate water and wastewater treatment services to its citizens, maintaining a functioning sewer collection system and discharging treated water in an environmentally responsible manner.
Recently, citizens have been inundated with information about the current state of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and sewer collection system, as well as the decisions made during the recent flood event. The following information is provided to explain the recent event and to help citizens better understand these important issues and the dedicated work of their elected officials and municipal staff.
THE SITUATION
Spilling Sewage Pictures by Gabe Fisher 3:30 PM 24 March 2013
Received yesterday. -jsq
Continue readingDate: Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:43:47 -0400
All, just so everyone is on the same page- the sewer line is currently spilling sewage. It just started at mu house but has been going strong at sugar creek for awhile by the looks of it. Here are some current pictures as of 3:30 today. It will get worse until the river crests..
Gabe
More Valdosta wastewater correspondence
Some interesting questions have come up in
Gabe Fisher's continuing correspondence with the City of Valdosta
about
sewage in his back yard
and
under his house,
while
City Council Tim Carroll continues to respond,
both copying a long list of people.
From: Gabe Fisher
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2013 14:23:12 -0500All, I appreciate the update on where the city stands on moving the sewer all together—I just wish we had been kept informed of the plans over the last 4 years. Living with the *real* threat of flooding is stressful enough, add in the guaranteed associated sewage spill is more than I can handle.
I also appreciate the city workers spreading lime and working on the sewer line behind my house today. But I have questions—What about the sewage in my yard and under my house? Is this my responsibility?
Thanks, Gabe
Tim Carroll responded with a couple of suggestions:
Continue readingVideos: Rezoning, two grants, fire, water, diversity and transparency @ VCC 2013-03-07
Still more about the recent flooding and water issues in these
videos of the 7 March 2013 Valdosta City Council Regular Session,
by
City Manager
Larry Hanson,
Council
Robert Yost excoriated the VDT,
former City Engineer
Von Shipman defended the city.
Multiple citizens brought up issues of diversity
and
local government transparency.
Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes.
AGENDAContinue reading
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, March 7, 2013
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Water Plant Planning —Henry Hicks @ VCC 2013-03-07
Valdosta Utilities Director Henry Hicks gave a detailed history of
flood control
projects
and work on the
Withlacoochee Waste Water Processing Plant
at the Valdosta City Council Meeting last night during the
"Manager's Report" section
of
the agenda.
Several Council members expressed their distaste for the VDT’s recent reporting
on the subject, and thanked Hicks and other city employees for their work.
Hicks said
they had spent $4 million on repairs
to the Withlacoochee plant, and that didn't include the $40 million
they'd already spent on upgrades in general.
Also, it took three days to build the berm around the plant in 2009,
and FEMA wouldn't approve any improvements to it.
He said he would Continue reading