Florida residents are calling for a boycott of Valdosta regarding the sewage spills, with areas affected downstream increasingly distressed over the millions of gallons that have polluted the waters of the Withlacoochee and the Suwannee River Basin during the last several years.

The Georgia Department of Health has not issued any warnings regarding the sewage spills, but the Florida Department of Health has issued numerous health warnings for residents during the last several weeks, warning them to stay out of the water.

With the North Florida region affected by the repeated spills into the Withlacoochee River by the City of Valdosta during the last several weeks, news reports reveal citizens frustrated by the lack of action to stop and prevent the spills.

On April 3, the Cedar Key Beacon quoted Valdosta Mayor John Gayle saying he’s “not happy with any talks of a boycott.”

Gayle told the Beacon, “We certainly don’t want that to happen. We appreciate the fact that we’re a hub, and we benefit from that.”

The Madison (Fla.) Chamber of Commerce sent a protest letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, requesting intervention in the issue, according to the news report. The letter is quoted: “This ongoing situation has had, and will continue to have devastating economic impact on our local economy and tourism.

“The Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers are vital to our environment and the eco-tourism assets we have here and we believe that this situation will have a long-lasting negative economic impact on our community.”

A Facebook page by the Friends of the Suwannee River calls for the Valdosta boycott in retaliation for the economic harm the sewage spills are causing the North Florida economy.

Natasha Allen, the Facebook page administrator, told the Beacon that “a fix in two years is not a comfort. The situation should be treated like an emergency. It affects tourism, health and property values.”

More than one million gallons of treated and untreated sewage has spilled into the Withlacoochee and several tributaries since February largely from manhole overflows along the aging gravity-fed lines. The city is two years into inspecting the 6,200 manholes around the community, and reports being halfway through, with fewer than 100 replaced or repaired so far.