St Marys Riverkeeper

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Kingsland, GA
St Marys Riverkeeper

To protect the St. Marys River now and for our future.

To conserve the water quality of our River, by utilizing the license and resources of the Waterkeeper Alliance, to educate the youth and communities within the watershed to the issues that might negatively impact the water quality and quantity of the River, to actively advocate for the conservation of the St. Marys River and surrounding watershed to the community, government and private entities, and to raise sufficient funds to support the mission of the Riverkeeper

08/31/2026

As part of National Water Quality Month, we'd like to highlight the Hilliard Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF), whose permit renewal is among the first in our watershed to implement the new PFAS monitoring and reporting requirements established under Florida's HB 1019, which took effect July 1, 2026 — a major new state law addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

PFAS are a large family of synthetic chemicals developed and widely used throughout the 20th century for their durability and resistance to heat, stains, oils, and chemical degradation. They have been used in products ranging from nonstick coatings and water-resistant clothing to food packaging, electronics, and numerous industrial applications.

Because many PFAS can persist in the environment for extremely long periods, they have become widely known as "forever chemicals." They can remain in water, soil, wildlife, and people, and research has linked exposure to certain PFAS with a range of adverse health and environmental effects.

While the EPA has established federal drinking water standards for several PFAS, there are currently no comparable federal wastewater or biosolids standards establishing limits for PFAS discharges. Monitoring PFAS in wastewater and biosolids has also not been uniformly required, making Florida's new requirements an important step toward understanding how these chemicals move through our wastewater systems and into the environment.

Under HB 1019, wastewater facilities with a designed average daily flow of 25,000 gallons or more are required to collect and analyze one biosolids sample and one treated effluent sample for PFAS each quarter and report the results to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

For the St. Marys River watershed, Hilliard's permit renewal provides an early look at how these new requirements will be implemented. You can't manage what you don't measure. Regular monitoring will help establish a better understanding of PFAS in our wastewater systems and provide the information needed to address these contaminants and, ultimately, develop stronger protections for our waterways.

As these new reporting requirements take effect, we'll be watching the results and what they can tell us about PFAS in the St. Marys River watershed.

08/28/2026

Shoutout to the six volunteers who joined us at the Creekside cleanup site in April for the 2026 St. Marys River Cleanup!

A special thank you to our site captains, Richard and Becky Gainey, for leading this cleanup site.

Together, volunteers collected more than 260 pounds of trash and debris.

A huge thank you to Nassau County Solid Waste for providing trash pickup and to Keep Nassau Beautiful, Inc. for all they do to help keep our waterways and community clean.

Across all 17 cleanup sites, volunteers removed nearly 6 tons of trash and more than 200 tires from the St. Marys River watershed.

This is just one of many incredible stories from this year's cleanup! Over the coming weeks, we'll be highlighting each of the 17 cleanup sites and celebrating the volunteers who made a difference.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and helped protect the St. Marys River!

08/26/2026

👋 Camden County: Attend the Sept. 10 Town Hall to talk data centers with your elected leaders—and urge them to extend the current moratorium!

This Town Hall is the last in a great summer series hosted by Camden County, Georgia Government as an opportunity for residents to interact with County leaders and staff, ask questions, and give input on future planning and development decisions. It's been a place for open dialogue, questions, and informal (and important) discussions so far. September's Town Hall is happening in Kingsland—ground zero for data center conversations in Camden.

👉 Camden County Summer Town Hall
⏰ Thursday, September 10 @ 6 PM
🌟 Resiliency Operations Center (135 Gross Rd., Kingsland)

St Marys Riverkeeper and One Hundred Miles will be at the Town Hall to ask the County to extend their 6-month moratorium (which ends in November). An extension would give more time to fully understand the potential impacts of large-scale data centers on our water, infrastructure, land, energy use, and communities—and ensure residents have a meaningful voice in what comes next.

Bring your questions and comments 📝 We hope to see you there!

08/25/2026

August is National Water Quality Month!

What better way to celebrate than by putting our newest water quality monitoring equipment to work?

This month, we officially put our new YSI in the field! This powerful tool allows St. Marys Riverkeeper to collect more detailed, real-time information about the health of the St. Marys River and its tributaries—including important measurements like temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and pH.

We are incredibly grateful to the Wendelle Burdick/Larsen Fund, Stan Jackson, Margaret Kirkland, and Kathy Schofield for the contributions to enable us to purchase this critical piece of equipment. Your support is directly strengthening our ability to monitor the river, identify potential problems, and advocate for its protection.

Every measurement tells us a little more about the health of our watershed. Better data means better understanding—and stronger advocacy for a healthier St. Marys River.

Thank you for investing in the science that helps us protect the river now and for our future.

A special shoutout to our Amelia Island Sailing Club Citizen Scientists for helping us put this new equipment to work and continuing to contribute valuable data to our water quality monitoring efforts.

08/24/2026

Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) changed the ranking of the Gopher Tortoise from "Vulnerable" to "Critically Endangered". The critically endangered ranking means that experts believe that without significant conservation action, observed population declines and both current and future threats have a high likelihood to lead to its extinction in the wild if trends continue. This status change does not come with any direct changes to laws or practices in the US, though this species is listed as State Protected in both Florida and Georgia.

Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are long-lived reptiles which are considered "ecosystem engineers" thanks to the deep, multichambered burrows they dig which provide shelter to hundreds of other species. In our watershed, they are most frequently encountered in dry, sandy areas such as the southern heights of St Marys Shoals Park, wild areas on the Trail Ridge and sandy dunes of Fort Clinch State Park.

08/21/2026

Shoutout to the 15 volunteers who joined us at the Kings Ferry Boat Ramp cleanup site in April for the 2026 St. Marys River Cleanup!

A special thank you to our site captain, Marie Gaul, who has been leading this cleanup site for more than 25 years!

Together, volunteers collected more than 505 pounds of bagged trash, along with a toilet, table, tires, and a discarded computer.

A huge thank you to Nassau County Solid Waste for providing trash pickup and to Keep Nassau Beautiful, Inc. for all they do to help keep our waterways and community clean.

Across all 17 cleanup sites, volunteers removed nearly 6 tons of trash and more than 200 tires from the St. Marys River watershed.

This is just one of many incredible stories from this year's cleanup! Over the coming weeks, we'll be highlighting each of the 17 cleanup sites and celebrating the volunteers who made a difference.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and helped protect the St. Marys River!

08/19/2026

We are delighted to announce that former Sturgeon Intern Tory will be continuing her work with St. Marys Riverkeeper in a new position, Conservation Programs Specialist, in the Fall!

Tory has been and continues to be an invaluable resource to the team, with a vibrant skillset ranging from fieldwork to communications projects. Her focus in this position will be helping with our Resilience project, donor stewardship, and advocacy initiatives.

Congratulations, Tory! And happy birthday!

A big thank you to Yamaha Rightwaters for their support that funds projects and positions to further our river advocacy.

08/17/2026

DOH-NASSAU UPGRADES RED TIDE ADVISORY TO HEALTH ALERT

The red tide advisory for St. Marys Inlet has been upgraded from a Health Caution (10,000-100,000 K. brevis cells/liter) to a Health Alert (>100,000 K. brevis cells/liter).

This escalation means conditions have worsened and greater caution is warranted for people visiting or recreating in the area.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission previously detected Karenia brevis at St. Mary’s Inlet on August 13. Red tide is unusual along Florida’s Atlantic coast, making this an especially important development for our area.

Health officials recommend:
• Avoid swimming or wading in or around affected waters.
• Stay away from affected areas if you are sensitive to respiratory irritation.
• Keep children and pets away from affected water and dead marine life.
• Do not harvest or eat shellfish or distressed or dead fish from affected waters.

Help us keep watch.

If you see dead or distressed fish, discolored water, or unusual wildlife activity, please report it to St. Marys Riverkeeper. Photos, location, date, and time are especially helpful. Message us or email [email protected]

We will continue monitoring the St. Marys River, St. Marys Inlet, and Cumberland Sound and share updates as conditions change.

Check current red tide conditions: https://gis.myfwc.com/redtidecurrentstatus/

Read the Florida Department of Health advisory: https://www.floridahealth.gov/community-environmental-public-health/environmental-public-health/water-quality/aquatic-toxins/where-are-habs/

08/14/2026

Waterkeepers Florida Calls for Data Center Moratoriums

In a statement issued yesterday, Waterkeepers Florida encourages local governments statewide to consider temporary moratoriums on new data center applications until comprehensive impact studies are completed and clear, enforceable protections are established through a transparent public process.

"We believe that communities deserve the opportunity to fully evaluate the potential impacts of data centers on water use, wastewater, energy demand, wetlands, wildlife habitat, resilience, and long-term community planning before development decisions are made. Thoughtful planning today will help communities avoid unintended consequences in the future while ensuring decisions reflect the values and needs of local residents. "
— Emily Floore, St. Marys Riverkeeper

As outlined in the full position statement, Waterkeepers Florida is ready to participate constructively in the development of data center regulations to help ensure:
● Protection of our regional surface and underground waters
● Strong environmental standards and accountability
● Meaningful public engagement and transparency
● Consideration of long-term community and ecological impacts; and
● Resilient and sustainable planning practices.

Full position statement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ReIruYNwrA_nusJdpeasw6Qor4ltqRgL/view?fbclid=IwY2xjawTsHpZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVpZWjJSdDdubkVhTlRIMUZzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6X6KVGw974EQpjhrmlJdIZm_R-yZtq8TiY3Zk8Dd1fDTIAWWbfm73Hgpioo_aem_iFIMrdhdUxpKbdOd94wuqA
You can also read the St. Marys Riverkeeper's data center public comments and stance here: https://www.stmarysriverkeeper.org/about-st-marys-riverkeepers/in-the-news/

08/12/2026

Sedimentation Impacting Casey Creek & the St. Marys River

St. Marys Riverkeeper is monitoring sedimentation impacts associated with the Esplanade development at Exit 1, where surface runoff from a future development area has carried sediment into Casey Creek and the St. Marys River.

The development has been identified as being in violation of Georgia’s Coastal Marshlands Protection Act (CMPA) and Erosion and Sedimentation Act. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD), Coastal Resources Division (CRD), and the City of St. Marys have all been on site in response.

Berms have been erected on the site to redirect stormwater and sediment toward a golf pond. Corrective measures include revegetating a 25-foot buffer around environmentally sensitive areas to help stabilize the site and reduce future sediment runoff. Fines will be issued, and sediment must be removed by hand as required under the CMPA.

A stop-work order was issued on July 16 and has since been lifted.

St. Marys Riverkeeper has been tracking this development from the air for the past year, documenting changes and potential impacts to Casey Creek, the St. Marys River, and the surrounding watershed.

We will continue to follow the situation and advocate for responsible development and strong protections for our waterways.

Our river is worth watching. Our river is worth protecting.

Image credit: Drone Landing Zone

Address

694-3 E William Avenue
Kingsland, GA
31548

Website

http://www.stmarysriverkeeper.org/

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