12/14/2023
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Much below normal flow number doubles overnight
NOAA expands river flood monitoring network in Ohio today
Up to the minute water news for Thursday, December 14, 2023 - last updated 1116 am EST
NWS and NOAA expanding surveillance and reporting network today
USGS monitor on North Fork Licking River has been added to the NWS high water forecasting set for Ohio. Action stage and flood stage levels are set for the site, and will now be monitored and reported as part of NWS warning system for floods.
WTOH is tuned in to USGS current streamflow data. Sign up here for free SMS flood alerts direct to subscribers' mobile devices.
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real-time flow monitors across Ohio
The downward streamflow trend continues across Ohio, spreading from the west across the state to the east border. Through the day Wednesday, the number of monitoring stations rated much below the seasonal normal went from four to six. As of this update, locations rated much below normal has doubled, now including locations in the northeast, the southeast and central Ohio.
Expanding in the Lake Erie west basin and Great Miami basin Thursday, much below normal flows are also showing up in the east Ohio section of Lake Erie basin, in the Ohio River tributaries and in part of the Scioto River basin. A low flow rating has popped up on a tributary of the Great Miami River, Loramie Creek is flowing 1.67 percentile near Newport, running just over a foot deep and three cubic feet per second, the surface area of Ohio drained by this creek is 152 square miles.
Popping up with much below normal ratings overnight, Blanchard River near Findlay in the Lake Erie west basin, Twin Creek near Germantown in the Great Miami basin, Deer Creek near Mt Sterling in the Scioto River basin, Shade River near Chester of the Upper Ohio River minor tributaries, Cuyahoga River at Newburgh Heights and Conneaut Creek near Conneaut in the Lake Erie basin of east Ohio. Watch for the drought map to expand in rated area in the coming days.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Auglaize River watershed continues on in severe hydrologic drought mode with adjacent watersheds remaining in below normal standing. Note St Josephs River has reappeared with the below normal rating in the Erie west basin, joining the Lower Maumee, Blanchard and St Marys River watersheds.
Little Miami River watershed is off the drought map Wednesday, as is Raccoon-Symmes watershed back to normal and off the drought map reducing the remaining area of Ohio rated below normal. Upper Ohio minor tributaries Mahoning River and Shade River watersheds remain below normal, along with the Scioto basin's Tygarts watershed.
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
A new satellite image has been released by NCCOS, taken December 13 at undetermined surface wind speed. This image shows the Ohio shore of Lake Erie clearly for the second day in a row. The ability to see two clear images back to back is helpful, the small localized HABs along the Ohio shore has grown in extent over a 24 hour period, what appeared as dispersed small blooms is filling in and becoming more of a dense mass. This could be due to changes in the wind conditions, we have not had a determined wind speed at all this month, so this question remains unanswered.
Small HABs seen dotting the open water in Maumee Bay have shifted over to the west shore and moved closer to the inner bay area. The concentration remains at the moderate 100 thousand cells per 100 ml or less level. The small localized HABs along the Maumee Bay State Park Shore are much the same, HABs east of Cedar Point, Reno Beach to Port Clinton have filled in to at least double the extent seen in the Dec 12 image. HABs outside Sandusky Bay have multiplied in area, running in a widespread area past Vermilion-on-the-Lake and out to the international border. See the bluegreen tags on the map for details.
Hazardous Spills Hotline records as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378 - update in progress
December 12 spill of an unknown amount of milk reported impacting an unnamed water body in Jackson Township, Stark County. The incident location tag indicates Mudbrook Creek off OH-236 and High Mill Ave NW. Depending on the volume of milk spilled and the flow level in this creek, the effect on the water body can include a reduction of dissolved oxygen and increased stress on aquatic organisms. More to follow.
See the CWA Crimebox for a new historic criminal conviction brief involving a deadly oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2012. Note the sentence a decade ago for a 500 barrel spill of crude oil was half a million dollars. A current spill investigation in the Gulf of Mexico now is searching for the source of a 26 thousand barrel spill. Seven platforms are still shut down as the Unified Command of state and federal agencies searches for the cause and source of the leak, clean up is still underway.
WTOH.us brings incident reports as recorded by the Ohio EPA spill line staff, and seeks additional details from Ohio EPA spokespeople as required. Check the pink location tags on the map with the watershed layer, labels and arrows switched on to see the area potentially impacted by spills. Where local drinking water supplies rely on groundwater wells, their profile reports here indicate how susceptible the aquifer may be to surface spills, see below Hiram Village case.
Drinking Water matters
Hiram Village Public Water System is listed on the latest federal EPA significant violator list released. The facility serves a population of 1406 with raw water sourced from three deep wells 155 ft deep into the Sharon sandstone aquifer. The aquifer is rated moderately susceptible to contamination, including from the surface. Hiram Village and wells are physically located in the Mahoning River watershed, a minor tributary of the Upper Ohio River. Turn on the watershed layer to see hazardous materials spills in the vicinity of Hiram Village. See the Safe Drinking Water Act Drinking Water Facility Profile below on Hiram Village for more information.
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