12/8/2023
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
St Josephs River watershed off the drought map
North Licking River station to be added to forecast set
Up to the minute water news for Friday, December 8, 2023 - last updated 235 pm
Hazardous Spills Hotline records as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378
No product listed as recovered in an incident of spilled mercury at a site on Perdue Ave in Columbus on December 6.
A spill of unknown amount of diesel was reported coming from a vehicle on or off the road on December 6. The incident is recorded as taking place off West Woodside Drive in Gambier, Knox County.
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.
NWS expanding surveillance and reporting network December 14
In a Public Information Statement from the NWS Weather Service in Wilmington, another expansion of the high water river forecast service will be implemented on Dec 14. The USGS North Fork Licking River water monitoring gauge located near Mt Olivet, KY will be added to the NWS high water forecasting set. Action and flood stage levels have been established for the site based on "past impacts and crest history, along with a survey of the affected areas and coordination with emergency officials," according to the NWS statement. The addition of flood categories and coordination with county emergency management personnel is part of an ongoing effort by multiple public and private agencies working together to improve emergency response and planning around floods.
WTOH is tuned in to USGS current streamflow data. For those stations where flood categories are determined, we are able to send flood alerts to local subscribers' mobile devices. To sign up for free SMS water alerts in your local area, see the top of the page link in red WT FREE SMS WATER ALERTS. Note this service is provided for the purpose of alerting subscribers to active water events. WaterToday does not share or sell subscriber information with third parties.
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 December 7 at undetermined surface wind speed. This image is mostly cloud obscured.
The interpretation given on the map and HABs button are from the portions of the Dec 4 and Dec 6 images that offer a limited view, the remaining areas interpretations are based on the last clear image available, November 30 capture.
From the image of December 6, we viewed an open water band of HAB east of Sandusky Bay to Vermilion-on-the-Lake. The band of HABs appears to be 3 to 5 miles wide and the concentration is what we have been seeing in the late fall Lake Erie HABs, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml.
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real time flow monitors across Ohio
Current streamflow readings across the state are trending lower Friday with more stations reporting below normal to much below normal volume and depth readings. Tymochtee Creek, a tributary of Sandusky River in the Lake Erie west basin is sending a low flow signal again Friday. Tymochtee Creek flow as recorded at Crawford has increased by Friday afternoon to the same level recorded yesterday, just .47 cubic feet per second and 2.09 feet deep. Great Miami River is sending a low signal Friday afternoon from the gauges set up at Troy. The current streamflow is 1.61 percentile, 1.75 ft deep at 53.5 cubic feet per second.
None of the gages of Ohio are recording high flows or flooding as of this update.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Earlier this week, the Ohio drought map dropped a degree of severity while expanding in total area. As of Friday, the one change is St Josephs River watershed in the Lake Erie basin has come off the drought map, northwest Defiance and west Williams Counties back to a seasonal normal 7-day average streamflow level.
In the Lake Erie basin, the Auglaize River watershed remains at severe drought rating, while adjacent watersheds Lower Maumee, Blanchard and St Marys River remain rated below normal.
South of the state divide, adjacent basins Great Miami and Scioto Rivers are rated below normal again today. Lower Scioto River basin is the one area excluded from the drought map in the Scioto basin. We still expect the below normal trend to claim this area in a day or two as current streamflows are below normal in the Upper Scioto watershed.
The Upper Ohio minor tributaries wrap the east and south Ohio state borders with below normal rated area almost all the way around. Beginning at the northeast, the Mahoning River watershed remains below normal as yesterday. A gap of normalcy occupies the Little Beaver and Wheeling Creek watersheds, and the below normal rating picks up again at Washington County, Shade River watershed. From Shade River, the Ohio minor tributaries meld with the Scioto Tygarts, the Brush Creek - Whiteoak watershed, the Lower Great Miami, Little Miami and Laughery watersheds each adjacent area rated below normal to the west state border.
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.
Drinking Water matters
Note this is the last week for mandatory testing for the algal toxin microcystins in surface sourced raw drinking water supplies. As HABs are still active in Lake Erie and certain facilities are still finding microcystins above the mandatory reporting level, facilities can elect to continue testing for harmful algae toxins in drinking water supplies.
The latest microcystins results from Celina City total microcystins measured at 3.2 micrograms per liter as of November 26 test, taken from Grand Lake raw water intake.
The City of Findlay has an active BWA for customers on South Main Street and West Sandusky Street. South Main Street addresses 500, 506, 508, 512, 520 and 524; West Sandusky Street: 103, 117, 119, 119 and a half, and 125 are included in the need to boil water for safety.
City of Findlay supplies potable water to over 20 thousand combined residential and wholesale customers with water sourced from the Blanchard River and reservoirs. Blanchard River is a tributary of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers in the Lake Erie drainage basin. City of Findlay posts November 24 testing for microcystins .598 micrograms per liter, more than double the minimum reporting level.
|
|
|
