1/2/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Low streamflows both sides of divide today
Auglaize River watershed back to moderate drought
Water news for Tuesday, January 2, 2023 - last updated 1018 am EST
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real-time flow monitors across Ohio
Normal flows in central and west Ohio continue with five stations registering below normal in the central state Scioto River basin, one below normal rating on Hocking River, a tributary of the Muskingum River basin, and two Ohio River minor tributaries recording below normal including Shade River at Chester and Upper Twin Creek at McGaw.
The below seasonal normal to much below normal situation continues on the west side with two extreme low flows recorded this morning.
Auglaize River flow north of Fort Jennings was rated much below normal yesterday, this morning flowing at the extreme low rating. The slowing trend here indicates a lower flow volume ahead for the rest of Auglaize River, a tributary of the Maumee River feeding Lake Erie west basin.
South of the divide, flows supplying the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico via Ohio River remain below normal with an extreme low flow showing up on a tributary of the Great Miami drainage basin. Loramie Creek collects surface runoff from 152 sqaure miles of Shelby County at the upper end of the drainage basin, south of the height of land separating the north Great Lake flow from the south Gulf of Mexico flow. Two stations are currently recording much below seasonal normal, Stillwater Creek and Wolf Creek draining land west of the Great Miami River. Look for the drought map to pick up more area and a deeper drought classification in the coming days.
There are no USGS gauges reporting extreme high flow values Tuesday.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Auglaize River watershed has tilted into moderate drought once again, leaving the below normal rating behind as 7-day average streamflows indicated a drying trend. St Marys River watershed jumps back on the drought map filling the surface area between the Auglaize north-flowing watershed and the Great Miami southward flow at the below normal rating. Great Miami and Lower Miami River watersheds hold on to the below normal rating, as does the Lower Scioto 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 streamflow conditions shift and change in the Ohio River basin, track the effects south down the Mississippi River into to Louisiana. Louisiana is rated "Exceptional Drought" on the USA National drought map, experiencing the most prolonged and severe dry conditions in decades. To see how surface water streamflows impact downstream drinking water supplies, visit WTLA.us.
Harmful Algal Bloom update based on the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
A new satellite image supplied by NCCOS was captured New Year's Day at undetermined surface wind speed. Cloud cover appears to be breaking up giving us a bit more area of Lake Erie west basin to check for HABs. The New Year's Day image shows open water from Reno Beach on the Ohio shore across the international border up to three to five miles off the north shore where cloud cover interrupts the view again.
The HAB spotted Dec 30 near Monroe, Michigan is still visible between cloud patches in the current image. The area or extent of the bloom here is not possible to determine due to cloud cover. The edge of the HAB that is visible between cloud patches appears moderate in concentration, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml.
A HAB spotted near the outlet of Toussaint River Dec 30 appears further west in the recent image. In the Jan 1 image, the Toussaint River outlet is cloud obscured, the shoreline to the west that appeared clear of HAB on Dec 30 today shows HAB activity. Again, the extent of this HAB cannot be determined as we have a view of one edge of the HAB before cloud cover takes over. The edge of the HAB that is visible between clouds appears the same moderate concentration as the Monroe HAB, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml.
December 30 image showed the Ohio shoreline from Reno Beach to Camp Perry where we saw HAB activity around Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, this HAB is not visible in the Jan 1 image.
Drinking Water matters
Barnesville, Nelsonville and East Palestine BWAs may still be in effect. More to follow here.
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