12/12/2023
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Scioto River basin off the drought map
Sewage sludge impacts Ottawa River at Toledo
Up to the minute water news for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 - last updated 406 pm EST
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real-time flow monitors across Ohio
Seasonal normal values are trending Tuesday from the Scioto River basin east to the state line. The west side continues in a below normal trend covering the Lake Erie basin and south of the divide Great Miami River basin, as seen for several weeks.
Tymochtee Creek is no longer flowing low in the Sandusky River watershed as recorded Monday afternoon. By afternoon Tuesday, there are four stations returning much below normal streamflow results. Two of these stations are on the Auglaize River in the Lake Erie west basin, and two are south of the state divide in the Great Miami River basin. Tributaries to the Great Miami River, Loramie Creek and Stillwater Creek are delivering streamflow measurements much below the norm for this date. As of the latest update, we see no gauges sending extreme high or low values, accordingly, there is no flooding reported on the USGS streamflow network.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Auglaize River watershed holds on to the severe hydrologic drought title another day as the current streamflows remain below seasonal normal, not high enough to shift the 7-day average. Adjacent watersheds of the Lake Erie west basin remain below normal, including Lower Maumee, Blanchard, St Marys River watersheds.
The big change in the drought map Tuesday is the Paint Creek watershed of the Scioto River basin being cleared from the drought map. This change takes the entire area of the Scioto River basin off the drought map, leaving the Great Miami Basin the last major drainage area rated below normal south of the height-of-land divide.
Ohio River minor tributaries left hanging around the drought map Tuesday afternoon include the northeast Mahoning River watershed, heading south to the Shade River watershed picking up another area below normal along with adjacent Raccoon-Symmes watershed. As current streamflows have stayed in the seasonal normal range through the day, we expect to see changes to the drought map tomorrow.
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.
Hazardous Spills Hotline records as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378
An unknown amount of human sewage is reported released along with 1000 gallons of an unknown blue material in a single incident report filed yesterday with Ohio EPA. The incident location tag as given in the report is fixed near the intersection of Arrowhead Drive and Stitt Rd just over 200 meters from the Maumee River in Monclova Township, Lucas County. No water impact is mentioned in the report. Recovery efforts resulted in an estimated 2000 gallons of sewage cleaned up. More to follow.
Harmful Algal Bloom update based on the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
No update as of Tuesday, NCCOS has not released a new image since our last update. The 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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