7/12/2024
WT Staff
 HAPPENING NOW
Friday, July 12 2024
Lake Erie, Sandusky Bay HABs in view
July 12, 2024 updated 1043 pm EDT
Streamflow Situation from the network of monitors of USGS Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
West Ohio flows continue much above seasonal normal catching both sides of the state divide. The northwest Ohio streamflows run above 90th percentile toward west Lake Erie basin Friday. South of the divide, streamflows pumped up with rain runoff from the later effects of Hurricane Beryl flow back to the Gulf of Mexico via the Great Miami, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Central and East Ohio streams run at seasonal normal levels through the Lake Erie basin and below normal to much below normal through the Scioto and Muskingum and Upper Ohio River basins. The seven-day average streamflows inform our drought map, today populated with moderate drought rating for Muskingum River basin's Wills Creek watershed, below normal through the Upper Ohio tributaries of Little Beaver Creek and Wheeling Creek, the lowest flows in Ohio have been recorded on Wheeling Creek below Blaine this week. Another area of below normal rating occurs in the Little Miami River watershed.
HAB Tracker satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
New York
The lastest image with a clear view of the Baie Missisquoi HAB was snapped Monday July 8, showing the high concentration bloom stretching from north shore in Canada to the shore of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge on the US side of the border. This HAB appears to match the color scale for a concentration around 900 thousand cells per 100 ml standard sample in the south end, reaching an extreme high concentration 2 million cells per 100 ml along the north shore in Canada. The latest image uploaded by the NCCOS for Lake Champlain was captured Thursday July 11, completely cloud obscured. From the NYS HABs reporting center, ninety-one active blooms are confirmed Friday, the same number as yesterday with a number of additions and deletions. First HABs of the season have been confirmed for Seneca River, Oakland Lake and Golden Pond. Additional or subsequent HAB reports have been confirmed for Beaver Dam Lake, Ellicott Creek and Lake Welch. Updates are in progress, more to follow. The latest list of HABs by water body and location descriptions is found here.
Louisiana: A massive HAB bloom has emerged in Lake Pontchartrain overnight, five by five nautical miles open water bloom in the east half of the lake showing between clouds. Dispersed HABs show through the west half of the lake Concentration matches the color scale for a moderate bloom, around 100 thousand cells per 100 ml. This is the first sign of widespread HABs in Lake Pontchartrain this season. The high concentration lakewide HAB we have been observing in Lake Verret appears in the latest image around 600 to 700 cells per 100 ml, the remaining area is cloud obscured. Southeast LA water bodies at are captured in a wide angle pass by the Copernicus-Sentinel III satellite, catching Lake Pontchartrain to Black Bay in frame. The latest image was captured July 11 at a surface wind speed 6.1 mph. Updates to the map and HAB report are in progress, more to follow. The latest HAB report for Louisiana is available here.
Ohio: Lake Erie west basin is captured by the NCCOS monitoring satellite, the latest upload a stunning clear image of the Lake Erie bloom in full color captured July 11 at surface wind speed 10 mph. The Lake Erie HAB now extends more than 20 nm from Toledo, up past Monroe Detroit Beach Woodland Beach to Stony Point. One large appendage off the main bloom stem extends in a five-mile wide band beginning from center of the Michigan shore reaching fifteen nautical miles into open water. At the Ohio shoreline, the HAB snakes along Maumee Bay State Park, Niles Beach, up around Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge and wraps Reno Beach up to the Magee Marsh and Metzger Marsh Wildlife areas. Sandusky Bay bloom Aphanizomenon remains parked in the bay, concentration around 800 thousand cells per 100 ml. Updates to the map and report are in progress. The latest Ohio HAB report is available here.
See the North American drainage basin map here, scroll all the way down to see how surface water moves across the continent into the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Arctic Oceans. WT Media Group tells the story of water in three countries, Canada, USA and Mexico. See the drinking water advisories, hazardous spills, floods, drought and harmful algal blooms plotted on the maps, as the water flows. Check out the CrimeBox for historic prosecutions under the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act box for details on public drinking water facilities, interviews with the scientists and tech developers on the leading edge of clean water technology 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.
Harmful Algal Blooms: WT follows the movement and growth of harmful algal blooms (HABs) as provided by the satellite monitoring program of the NCCOS for New York's Lake Champlain, Ohio's Lake Erie and Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding area. Interpretation of satellite images is best in clear conditions at wind speed less than 4 mph, where the appearance and extent of HABs is reliably matched to a color scale for concentration. HABs are known to produce algal toxins of concern for raw drinking water sources and recreational water bodies. Plan beach access to avoid HABs and consider carrying a rapid test kit to detect the toxin microcystins.
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