5/30/2024
WT Staff
 HAPPENING NOW
Thursday, May 30, 2024
Seven new beach advisories added overnight
May 30, 2024 1025 am EDT
HABs Tracker
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Satellite HAB monitoring Program, Ohio Beachguard
Ohio Department of Health posts Recreational Public Health Advisories for beaches that have tested above the threshold level for e.coli, or for beaches presumed to have high e.coli based on predictive modeling. Sampling of recreational water is done by various including the local water and sewer district, Department of Natural Resources, County Health department. The samples are tested for e.coli and in cases where a HAB mat is observed, testing can be done for the cyanotoxin microcystins. Recreational public health advisories are posted on the Ohio Beachguard site and re-published here.
Seven beaches have been added to the advisory list overnight, including Lake Erie's Villa Angela State Park and Euclid State Park in Cuyahoga County, Crystal Rock, Lion's Park, and Battery Park in Erie County. In Portage County, West Branch Camp on Michael J Kirwin Lake has been listed with a Bacterial Contamination Advisory. In Clermont County, East Fork Main Beach on East Fork Lake is listed with a bacterial contamination advisory. For more information see here.
The latest satellite image of the Lake Erie West basin was captured May 29 at a surface wind speed 9.5 mph. The image is mostly cloud obscured with no sign of HABs in Lake Erie west basin between cloud breaks. Surface observation of HABs from the ground or by satellite imaging can be distorted by wind speeds above 4 mph. When the wind causes the HAB mat to submerge and mix down the water column, it escapes detection. Mandatory water sampling for HAB toxins in surface drinking water sources begins the first full week of June. Grand Lake is a raw water source for the City of Celina. The microcystin levels have been tested, see the map to the right for more information.
NY Department of Environmental Conservation has posted the first confirmed HAB reports of the 2024 season. The breakout water body is The Lake in Central Park with the first official report coming in May 14, this is first reported and the first to be entered into the 2024 archived bloom reports. The Lake in Central Park has two active bloom reports today, a large localized HAB in the south and a widespread HAB in the north end. May 15 a lakewide HAB was reported in Roth Pond in Suffolk County by Stony Brook University. This report went straight to the archive. A current report is dated May 20 for Roth Pond, one of four active blooms on the NYS DEC HABs notification system today. Morningside Pond in Morningside Park north of Manhattan has a lakewide HAB reported May 21. For more information see active HABs tagged on the map here.
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) HAB monitoring program uploads a new satellite photo of Lake Champlain daily for interpretation of harmful algal bloom (HAB) presence, extent and concentration. The latest image was captured May 29 at unknown surface wind speed, this image is mostly cloud obscured. An image taken May 26 allows view to water and shorelines between cloud breaks with no HAB activity visible. Any HAB observed in these photos is matched with a color scale for concentration given in cells per 100 ml sample. See the latest HAB Tracker report here.
WT USA Flows and Flood Tracker provisional data from the network of USGS streamflow monitors
Thirty-nine streamflow gauges are recording above flood stage across the USA Thursday, down from forty-five floodings observed yesterday. Two cases are observed in the WT coverage area, one in Georgia, and one in Louisiana.
Louisiana NWS is still warning of thunderstorms with possibility of localized flooding in northwest LA Thursday. For now, the network of streamflow gauges in northwest LA indicates normal to above normal flow levels with no flooding or extreme high flows. Region 4 border river Sabine continues to flow nine inches above the channel near Ruliff, TX with no change over the last twenty four hours. See black tag indicating flow volume and gauge height, flows updated daily here.
Georgia: Atlantic basin's Satilla River is down five inches overnight, a foot and one inch out of the channel in Atkinson County, still coming down. See black tag indicating flow volume and gauge height, flows updated daily here.
As many drinking water facilities are supplied from surface water reservoirs, the streamflow situation is pertinent to both drinking water supply and quality. High flows can stir up sediment and cause turbidity in the reservoirs, requiring additional treatments to render the water potable. Low flow volume is linked to warmer temperatures in the reservoir and can be an issue for water quality where HABs are present. WT tracks streamflow trends with an eye to the impacts on drinking water supply and quality in each of the state's watersheds. Check the watershed layer on the map to see the direction of flow and streamflows that may be impacting drinking water today.
USGS Provisional Data Statement
Data are provisional and subject to revision until they have been thoroughly reviewed and received final approval. Current condition data relayed by satellite or other telemetry are automatically screened to not display improbable values until they can be verified.
Provisional data may be inaccurate due to instrument malfunctions or physical changes at the measurement site. Subsequent review based on field inspections and measurements may result in significant revisions to the data.
Data users are cautioned to consider carefully the provisional nature of the information before using it for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational consequences. Information concerning the accuracy and appropriate uses of these data or concerning other hydrologic data may be obtained from the USGS.
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