11/30/2023
WT Staff
AFTER THE CLOSE THURSDAY
Drought spreading
Lake Erie HAB becoming dense and widespread
Up to the minute water news for Thursday, November 30, 2023 - last updated 5 PM EST
Drinking Water matters
West Alexandria has remains under BWA following repair of a leaking valve Tuesday. Water customers are advised to boil water until further notice.
Sensitive population advisory for fluoride lifted at Grover Hill Elementary and Marion Local Highschool
WTOH asked the OEPA to confirm the long term public drinking water advisories for Grover Hill Elementary School and Marion Local Highschool officially rescinded. The schools had been listed with long term sensitive person advisories for fluoride levels in excess of the maximum contaminant level dating back to 2016 and 2018, respectively.
OEPA spokesperson Dina Pierce confirms, "You are correct that the fluoride advisories have been lifted for both of these schools. When public water systems are under advisories, it means the fluoride levels exceed 2.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L). With that being said, the most recent sample taken at Marion Local High School in 2021 was 1.44 mg/L. The most recent sample at Gover Hill Elementary School in 2022 was also below 2.0 at 1.89 mg/L. Advisories for both schools were lifted soon after those samples were taken, but the website was only recently updated to reflect the change. The fluoride in both systems is naturally occurring, meaning neither intentionally add the mineral."
Pierce went on to say that even though the test values are down, "...the work is not complete. Samples at each of these schools, per compliance rules, will continue to be taken every three years."
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real time flow monitors across Ohio
Two gages are registering low flows Thursday morning, Auglaize River is low at Defiance and Great Miami River is still low at Troy, 1.61 percentile.
Streamflow monitors are recording below normal to much below normal volumes and depth across the west side of the state Thursday, with a great leap into below normal flows picked up across the east and south as well.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for this date
Auglaize River watershed has dropped to the severe rating, with Lower Maumee River watershed still showing up as moderate drought Wednesday morning. Rain in the forecast Friday night may bring relief to the widespread drought, now taking up the adjacent Blanchard River watershed, back on the drought map Thursday. The Lake Erie basin watersheds surrounding Auglaize River still rated below normal today include St Mary's, St. Josephs, Upper Maumee and Tiffin River.
Across the divide, the Great Miami River drainage basin both Upper and Lower watersheds remain below normal Thursday. The below normal area approximately 2600 square miles begins in Darke County south including Hamilton County where the Great Miami joins the Ohio River. So far, the Little Miami River watershed 1200 square miles is not drought rated. A chance of rain tonight at Dayton and 100% chance of rain tomorrow, could fill the streams in this basin, more to follow.
Back on the drought map Thursday after an extended absense, parts of the Scioto River basin including parts of Fayette, Ross and Highland Counties are rated below normal. Upper Ohio minor tributary Shade River is back on the map at below normal including Meigs and Washington Counties.
The height-of-land divide in Ohio runs from Mercer County in the west angling northeast up to Ashtabula County on the east state border. Streamflows north of the divide feed Lake Erie, flows south of the divide run to the Ohio River, part of the Mississippi River basin that drains the majority of interior North America to the Gulf of Mexico.
As the drought conditions shift and change in the Ohio River basin, track the effects south down the Mississippi River into to Louisiana, rated "Exceptional Drought", the highest category on the National Drought map. Visit WTLA.us for more information on downstream effects.
Harmful Algal Bloom update based on the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
NCCOS latest satellite image of west basin Lake Erie was captured November 29 at a wind speed of 23.2 mph. This image is mostly cloud obscured with some parts of Maumee Bay and North Maumee Bay showing between clouds. The previous image gave a clear view of the west and southwest Lake Erie shore including Maumee Bay and the inner area of Sandusky Bay with cloud obscuring the view of outer Sandusky Bay and east.
From what is visible in the Nov 29 image, the small localized HABs hanging around Maumee Bay are becoming more dense and taking up a widespread area around the outlet of the Maumee River. North Maumee Bay HABs are also becoming more dense and look to be forming a band along the shoreline. These HABs are similar in concentration, a moderate 100 thousand cells per 100 ml. USGS streamflow monitor on the Maumee River at Waterville records the water temperature less than a degree above freezing.
A small localized HAB seen along shore at Maumee Bay State Park Niles Beach in the last image has also grown more dense and widespread. A crack between clouds shows HAB at the Toussaint River outlet and filling the water east of Catawba Island. Sandusky Bay is completely socked in with clouds, however the HAB is visible just outside Sandusky Bay, appearing widespread and becoming more dense.
Public drinking water facilities will continue the mandatory testing for algal toxin as per the OEPA standard for one more week this season. Drinking water facilities supplied by surface water sources can elect to continue testing for microcystins as local conditions indicate. WTOH watches the posted test results on Ohio Drinking Water Watch and will relay that information here. More to follow.
Hazardous Spills Hotline updated as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378
An unknown amount of blue material is reported spilled into an unnamed water body off Portage Lakes Drive in Akron yesterday. A pond and channel leading into Long Lake is relatively close to the reported spill site, as is North Reservoir and Portage Lake Fishing Pond. OEPA has been asked for details. More to follow.
Anyone with knowledge of a spill is legally obliged to report immediately to local authorities or the OEPA spill hotline, any day of the week at any time. The spiller or responders in control of a spill on site will be ideally follow protocol for containment and handling of hazardous materials to minimize impact on waterways, including preventing escape down storm drains or tile drains. WTOH.us reports spills as the incident reports are released by the OEPA to bring awareness to events with potential to impact drinking water sources.
See the CWA Crimebox for historic criminal convictions involving hazardous spills deliberate and accidental discharges, where the responsible parties have included top level executives and business owners, supervisors and employees, along with the fines, probation and even jail time for knowingly or negligently discharging contaminants without a permit to do so.
WTOH.us brings incident reports as recorded by the Ohio EPA spill line staff, and seeks additional details from Ohio EPA spokespeople as required. Check the pink location tags on the map with the watershed layer, labels and arrows switched on to see the area potentially impacted by the spill.
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