8/6/2024
WT Staff
 August 6, 2024 949 am EDT
HAPPENING NOW
NWS: Severe thunderstorms, possible tornado, flash flooding
Hazardous Weather Outlook issued 807 am August 6 by NWS Cleveland
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely today. Storms may
become strong to severe with strong, damaging winds the primary
concern, although there is a non-zero tornado threat. In addition,
torrential rainfall rates could lead to localized flash flooding.
Impacting Geauga-Ashtabula Inland-Hancock-Huron-Medina-Summit-Portage-Trumbull-
Wyandot-Crawford-Richland-Ashland-Wayne-Stark-Mahoning-Marion-Morrow-
Holmes-Knox-Southern Erie Counties
WT HAB Tracker from state sources and where available, the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Lake Erie west basin: Ohio, Michigan
The latest satellite view from NCCOS was captured August 4 at a low wind condition seldom seen in Lake Erie, 2.2 mph. This is a perfectly clear image of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay HABs with a reliable assessment of the position and extent of the HAB area. The change from Saturday to Sunday this last weekend was especially noteworthy. Maumee Bay State Park HAB escalated from approximately triple from 1 to 3 million along the west half of Maumee Bay State Park shoreline. Ohio Department of Health removed the recreational public health advisory for algal toxin on Maumee Bay State Park beach yesterday morning. As it takes many days between the water sample date and microcystins test results, the satellite photo here indicates Maumee Bay State Park still has a serious HAB issue and continue to exercise caution, avoid this water. Sandusky Bay HAB Aphanizomenon appears as dispersed open water mats holding the 500 to 600 thousand cells per 100 ml pattern. EPA guidelines for two common algal toxin are given below. See the last Ohio HAB report here.
New York
The latest satellite image of Lake Champlain was captured August 4 at unknown wind speed, a clear image showing Baie Missisquoi HAB inflamed to extreme high concentration, up to 2 million cells per 100 ml along the northern shoreline. The southward press of this HAB extends to Alburg-Swanton bridge. A widespread HAB in St. Albans Bay appears in the same position in the inner bay along shore matching the concentration color scale for around 600 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Carmi in Vermont is visible in this image, sporting a widespread HAB at extreme high concentration 1 to 2 million cells per 100 ml, with the hot spot along the inner bay shoreline.
From the NYS DEC HABs reporting center, 175 HABs are confirmed on the active notifications board Tuesday morning, down from 190 yesterday. All reports made prior to July 23 have been archived. See bluegreen tags on the map for the impacted water bodies with at least one active HAB, the full list of HABs is here.
Louisiana: The latest upload from the NCCOS was captured August 5 at wind speed 6.6 mph. This image is clear showing an area of higher concentration developing midlake in Lac Des Allemands, up over 1 million cells per 100 ml. Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas again appear clear of HAB activity as last confirmed in the clear image Saturday August 3. HABs noted in Lakes Cataouache and Salvador no longer appear in this latest image. Lakes Verret and Palourde, the water south of Lake Palourde, Lake Boeuf all lakewide HABs around 800 thousand to 1 million cells per 100 ml. The pond north of Burnside matches Wetland Watchers Park for extreme high concentration, the highest in Louisiana's southeast covered by this satellite capture at 2 million cells per 100 ml. Keep pets leashed around these water bodies to avoid contact with high concentration HAB mats and scum, the likelihood of toxins is high in these conditions. See the full report here.
California: The weekly HAB report for August 2 is posted with seven water bodies statewide posted with DANGER level advisories, including Lago Los Osos, Lake Chabot, Lake Anza, Discovery Bay, Contra Loma Reservoir, Big Break Regional Shoreline and Copsey Creek. Three water bodies are posted with HAB Warning level advisories, including Discovery Bay, Tahoe Keys and San Luis Reservoir's Dinosaur Point Boat Launch. Caution advisories are posted for another 31 sites. See the California HAB tracker report with advisories by watershed region, HAB DANGER and WARNING advisories are pinned to the map with bluegreen tags, the full list is here.
Georgia:
Georgia Healthy Beaches program of Coastal Public Health tests beaches, posting permanent and temporary advisories about bacteria levels. Jekyll Island has two permanent advisories in place, both beaches tested clear for bacteria in the last quarterly water sample taken July 1, 2024. As of this report, all St Simons Island and Jekyll Island beaches are shaded in green, indicating water meets the safety guidelines for bacteria. No new information has been found on the presence of HABs in Georgia since our last update. Georgia Environmental Protection Division does accept reports from the public of suspicious algal blooms. As we receive updates from EPD, the results will be found here. 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.
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.
US EPA Health Advisories for public drinking water specify the maximum threshhold for two common algal toxins, microcystins and cylindrospermopsins, liver toxins produced by cyanobacteria. Note these levels are health advisories, not legally enforceable regulatory limits. Two levels are identified, separating the population by age. The first level applies to pre-school aged children, the second level applies for those age 6 and up. The EPA health advisory gives the maximum level of toxin that would not produce negative health impacts over a ten day period. For microcystins, .3 ug/L under 6 yrs old; 1.6 ug/L for 6 and older. For cylindrospermopsins, the toxin associated with the HAB Aphanizomenon the level for preschoolers is .7 ug/L, for those 6 and up, 3 ug/L.
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