7/17/2024
WT Staff
 HAPPENING NOW
Wednesday, July 17 2024
High winds on Lake Erie hiding HABs?
July 17, 2024 updated 956 pm EDT
WT HAB Tracker from state sources and where available, the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
New York
A clear image of Lake Champlain was snapped by Copernicus-Sentinel III satellite July 16 showing the northeast Baie Missisquoi HAB expanded up to the Alburg-Swanton Bridge at a high concentration 800 to 900 thousand cells per 100 ml. One hot spot is visible along the north shore in Canada, 2 million cells per 100 ml.
From the NYS HABs reporting center, ninety-five HABs are confirmed in the interior freshwater lakes Wednesday afternoon with a HAB debut for an unnamed water body in Orange County. Ongoing HAB reports have been confirmed for Agawam Lake and Wainscott Pond in Suffolk County, these water bodies are filled with HABs, new reports are made once a week to keep these on the active list. None of the water bodies listed with HABs have been cleared off the list so far today. See bluegreen tags on the map to the right, the full list of water bodies impacted is found here.
Louisiana: The latest upload from the NCCOS was caught July 16 at surface wind speed 3.5 mph. This image is mostly cloud obscured. The previous image, July 15 reveals a partial view of southeast LA water bodies, including HABs in Lake Pontchartrain HAB. Hot spots in this image are Wetland Watchers Park and the water between Bayou Shaffer and the Avoca Island cutoff, HAB concentration matches the color scale for 2 million cells per 100 ml. Southeast LA water bodies at are captured in a wide angle pass by the Copernicus-Sentinel III satellite, with Lake Pontchartrain to Avoca Cutoff to Black Bay in frame. Updates are in progress. The last HAB report for Louisiana is available here.
California: Algal toxin alerts have been posted around Discovery Bay, Clear Lake, Lake Temescal, San Antonio Lake, Forbes Creek according to the weekly update from California Water Boards Freshwater HABs monitoring program. Beach signage bearing the captions DANGER or WARNING state "Toxins from the algae in this water can harm humans and kill animals", followed by a string of safety measures. For the latest report, click here.
Ohio: Lake Erie west basin HABs latest image from NCCOS was captured Tuesday July 16 at a surface wind speed 24.2 mph. As with the Monday capture, the very high wind speed causes the HAB extent to be underestimated. Tuesday's image clearly shows the west shoreline edge of the Lake Erie HAB from Maumee Bay to the Canadian border in a band from half a mile to five miles wide. We believe a large area of this HAB is submerged by wind, out of reach of the camera in open water. The highest concentration areas of the bloom match 1 million cells per 100 ml in North Maumee Bay, along shore and 2 nm into the lake from Monroe Michigan. The Sandusky Bay bloom Aphanizomenon appears dispersed throughout the inner bay area west of OH-269 bridge, a dense mass filling the outer bay area 900 thousand cells per 100 ml creeps out of the bay 2 to 3 nm past Cedar Point into Lake Erie at 500 thousand cells per 100 ml. Updates to the map tags and report are in progress. The latest Ohio HAB report is available here.
Georgia: Jekyll Island's South Dunes Beach has been posted for elevated bacteria levels. Samples taken on July 15 have returned elevated enterrococcus levels, 100 colony forming units per 100 ml. The advisory is temporary, Coastal Health Region will update the results as follow up testing is performed. Scant information is available information on the presence of HABs in Georgia. USGS HAB research indicates GA is one of six states with no known anecdotal reports of HAB poisonings. Georgia Environmental Protection Division takes reports on suspicious algal blooms from the public and from the Shoreline Managers of the Power Lakes. One HAB report was made to Georgia EPD in all of 2023. The Georgia Healthy Beaches program of Coastal Public Health tests beaches for bacteria, posting permanent and temporary advisories to warn the public. The latest Georgia beach advisories are 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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