1/4/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Spills impact Muskingum River, Tiffin River tributary
Lower Great Miami River strikes moderate drought
Water news for Thursday, January 4, 2024 - last updated 1034 am EST
Drinking Water matters
City of Toledo BWA for customers connecting between Ketner Avenue and Oldham Drive remains in effect until Saturday, January 6 at 5 pm.
Hazardous Spills Hotline records as reported to OEPA 1-800-282-9378
Two spills on December 26 impacted water bodies in Ohio, according to OEPA. The first incident sent unknown amounts of hydraulic fluid and paint waste into the Muskingum River off South 2nd St in the City of Coshocton, Tuscarawas Township, Coshocton County. A sheen was reported at the incident site on the Muskingum River. The Muskingum is a major tributary of the Ohio River, forming at Coshocton by the confluence of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas Rivers.
A second spill incident occurring the same day contributed an unknown amount of antifreeze, hydraulic oil and motor oil into Prairie Creek from E South Street in Bryan, Williams County. The Tiffin River tributary impacted by this spill discharges into the Lake Erie west basin drainage area. See the streamflow situation, HABs and drought map sections of this update for more Lake Erie west basin information.
See the pink tags on the map for more hazardous material spills reported in Ohio.
Streamflow Situation from USGS Waterwatch based on real-time flow monitors across Ohio
Normal flows in central and west Ohio interrupted by an increasing number of below normal and one much below normal rating showing today.
West Ohio flows remain below normal on both sides of the state divide with increasing numbers of much below normal readings through the Great Miami basin.
Auglaize River flow north of Fort Jennings in the Lake Erie basin improved overnight, no longer rated extreme low. Likewise south of the divide, Loramie Creek flow has improved overnight at Newport in the upper headwater area of Great Miami River basin, no longer rated extreme low flow.
There are no USGS gauges reporting extreme high flow values midweek.
Drought situation from USGS Waterwatch 7-day average streamflow compared with historic flow for today's date
Lower Great Miami River watershed has descended into moderate drought overnight, taking in Preble, Montgomery, Butler and northwest Hamilton Counties. Upper Great Miami remains in below normal status on the Ohio drought map Thursday.
On the Lake Erie side of the state divide, Auglaize River watershed remains at moderate drought, with adjacent St Marys watershed sticking at below normal.
So far, the Scioto River is avoiding a call to the drought map in all but the Tygarts watershed's east Scioto and west Lawrence Counties. Lake Erie basin in east Ohio, the Ohio River minor tributaries, the Muskingum River basin remain out of reach of the drought map Thursday.
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
As of Thursday morning, Jan 1 is the latest satellite image supplied by NCCOS for interpretation of HABs. This picture is slightly less cloud obscured than the images previous. In view Jan 1 is the open water from Reno Beach across the international border to within three to five miles of the north shore. Clouds obscured the view of Maumee Bay and Sandusky Bay, and all area east of Sandusky Bay.
HAB activity is evident in the Jan 1 image off shore from Monroe, Michigan where the edge of a HAB protrudes from under cloud cover at moderate concentration 100 thousand cells per 100 ml. The extent of this HAB is undetermined as we cannot see all of it, and as we do not have a confirmed wind speed, it is possible the bloom area would be underestimated due to being submerged by high wind.
A HAB spotted near the outlet of Toussaint River Dec 30 appears further west in the Jan 1 image. The edge of this HAB appearing in cloud breaks appears the same moderate concentration as the Monroe HAB, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml.
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