12/11/2023
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Much above normal flows in Lake Erie basin
Sewage sludge impacts Ottawa River at Toledo
Up to the minute water news for Monday, December 11, 2023 - last updated 631 pm EST
Hazardous Spills Hotline records as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378
An unknown amount of sewage sludge and biosolids was reported impacting the Ottawa River from an address on North University Avenue in Toledo last week, December 4. Another sewage spill reported the following day occurred north of Roush Rd OH-197 in Franklin Township, Richland County on December 5. The incident report says that 15 gallons of the sewage was removed from the site during the cleanup. No water bodies are reported impacted as a result of this incident.
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real time flow monitors across Ohio
Current streamflow readings across the state are trending higher Monday with a handful of stations reporting above normal and much above normal in the north central area of the Lake Erie basin. Sandusky River, Vermilion River and Black - Rocky River watersheds were posting much above normal flows as of Monday morning, by the afternoon update we see Tymochtee Creek flowing low again at Crawford, 1.67 percentile, running 2.14 ft deep at 1.13 cfs.
South of the divide, the Great Miami River has picked up normal flow levels over the weekend, no longer sending extreme low flow signal from the Troy station. A tributary of the Great Miami, Stillwater Creek is the one station recording much below normal, with a 9.5 percentile flow in the Miami basin Monday.
None of the gages of Ohio are recording extreme high or low flows today, and there is no flooding reported on the USGS streamflow network as of this update.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Auglaize River watershed held on to the severe drought status over the weekend even as streamflows nearby in the Lake Erie basin picked up to above normal and much above normal values. Adjacent watersheds encircling to the severe drought Auglaize watershed remain below normal Monday, including the Lower Maumee, Blanchard, St Marys River watersheds.
Last week, we saw moderate drought areas downshift to below normal while the total area rated below normal increased. As of Monday, the drought map has declined in total area, losing the Middle Ohio minor tributary Brush Creek - Whiteoak Creek watershed and all but the Paint River watershed of the Scioto Basin. These areas are off the drought map and back to normal Monday, as the prior 7-day average flow matches seasonal normal values.
Of the Ohio River minor tributaries, Mahoning River, Shade River, Raccoon-Symmes and Laughery watershed remain below normal.
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.
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 10 at undetermined surface wind speed. This image is mostly cloud obscured, showing only the outer Sandusky Bay area.
The interpretation given on the map and HABs button are from the portions of the Dec 10 and Dec 6 images with limited view, the remaining areas interpretations are based on the last clear image available, November 30 capture.
As of the latest image captured Sunday December 10, a HAB is seen lakeside of Sandusky Bay Cedar Point matching a moderate concentration level around 100 thousand cells per 100 ml. The rest of the Dec 10 image is cloud obscured. From the image of December 6, we viewed an open water band of HAB east of Sandusky Bay extending along the shore as far as Vermilion-on-the-Lake. The band of HABs appears to be 3 to 5 miles wide and the concentration is the same as other HABs observed in Lake Erie recently, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml.
Drinking Water matters
The City of Findlay BWA for customers on South Main Street and West Sandusky Street has ended.
Note the City of Findlay supplies potable water to over 20 thousand combined residential and wholesale customers with water sourced from the Blanchard River. Blanchard River is a tributary of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers in the Lake Erie drainage basin currently rated below normal on the USGS drought map. City of Findlay posted November 24 testing for microcystins results at .598 micrograms per liter, more than double the minimum reporting level.
Mandatory testing for the algal toxin microcystins in surface-sourced raw drinking water supplies has ended for the season, resuming in the first full week of June 2024. As HABs are still active in Lake Erie and certain drinking water facilities found microcystins above the mandatory reporting level during the final week of mandatory testing, these facilities can elect to continue testing for harmful algae toxins in drinking water supplies. More to follow.
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.
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