3/2/2024
WT Staff
WEEKEND WATER REPORT
Flood, Drought Streamflows and BWAs across the WT Group
WTNY.us, WTOH.us, WTGA.us, WTLA.us
Water news for Saturday, March 2, 2024 updated 1128 am EST
National Weather Service Hazardous Weather Outlook issued for March 2
Central Ohio was under dense fog advisory until 11 am Saturday morning with visibility one quarter of a mile or less. The fog bank impacts portions central, south central, southwest and west central Ohio, as well as of east central and southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky.
Northwest Louisiana is dealing with dense morning fog, making driving conditions difficult across much of north Louisiana and south Arkansas this morning. NWS advises motorists use low-beam headlights and exercise caution on area roadways where fog is present.
Georgia is under a dense fog advisory until 10 am EST Saturday with visibility less than one mile to as low as a quarter mile in dense fog, impacting portions of central, east central, north central,
northeast, northwest and southeast Georgia.
Streamflow Situation from USGS current streamflow monitors
Ohio is registering below normal and much below normal streamflows across the north for the Lake Erie draiange basin Saturday morning. Streamflows south of the state divide feed the Ohio River, a major tributary of the Mississippi River. Flows in the south are mostly seasonal normal. No active flooding is recorded in the network, no extreme high or extreme low flows.
Rain in New York City this morning and rain through the interior and upstate NY is spiking streamflows to much above normal in Black River and Lake Champlain, Upper Hudson watersheds. Temps above freezing are producing melt conditions for creeks and rivers along Lake Ontario. No extreme high or low flows recorded as of this report, no active flooding reported on sites monitored by USGS in New York State.
Georgia is seeing much above normal streamflows Saturday morning along the state height-of-land divide separating the watersheds of the Mississippi River basin from those draining to the Atlantic Ocean. Two stations are recording flow at the 99th percentile high, see https://wtga.us for more.
Western Louisiana is experiencing much below normal streamflows, one system sensing an extreme low flow Saturday morning. Flows in the east Saturday morning are normal to above normal with one station reporting 97th percentile. Two water bodies are flooding, Bayou Dorcheat is 4 ft over flood stage near Shreveport and Sabine River is running four inches over near Ruliff TX. These monitoring stations have been in flood stage for many weeks, the trend is declining water level, even while the Louisiana drought map takes on more area and accelerates into deeper drought.
Drought Map USGS 7-day average streamflow against seasonal average
Ohio's drought map is empty in the south, all surface area draining to the Mississippi is clear of a drought rating Saturday. In the Lake Erie basin, four watersheds are rated below normal.
New York Niagara River - Lake Erie watershed area in Erie County remains below normal along the Niagara-Erie County line, along with the Lower Genesee River watershed and new Saturday, Lake Ontario minor tributaries central watershed is rated below normal.
Georgia drought map is filling in with more surface area in the Atlantic basin rated below normal Saturday, now including the Lower Oconee River watershed. Tennessee River watershed in the northwest and Lower Ocmulgee River watershed in central Georgia remain rated moderate drought.
Louisiana is the drought hot spot in the WT Group, having three areas reach the highest level of drought rating on the scale. Region 1 watershed, Region 3 and Region 7 of the eight watershed regions are marked with extreme drought Saturday. The LA surface area not rated on the drought map has dwindled down to an area between the Tensas and Mississippi Rivers along the Mississippi border, parts of three Parishes in the northwest Region 1, and Region 8 between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.
Drinking Water Advisories
Three recent short term BWAs announced in Ohio, for Zanesville, Nelsonville and Chillicothe. Ohio EPA has forty eight long term public drinking water advisories in effect, where facilities have reported over maximum contaminant level, or where microbiological contamination has been found. See yellow tags on the map for boil advisories, red for do not consume orders.
Louisiana takes the lead in the WT Group for the most boil water advisories. Fifteen boil orders are active as of Saturday, check the yellow tags on the map for details.
Two boil water advisories have been issued in Georgia recently, one impacting a portion of Alpharetta and another in Lee County.
Hazardous Spills
Ohio EPA took a report of an unknown amount of solid waste being dumped in Cleveland. Spills in Ohio are reported to the 24 hour emergency spill hotline with response handled by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, not to be confused with the federal agency by the same handle, EPA.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality responds to reports made to the Emergency Spill line. A massive spill incident in November 2023 is still under investigation by the US Coast Guard, federal EPA and state DEQ authorities. A million gallons of crude oil discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipeline coming off seven oil production platforms. The platforms and pipeline were shut down immediately and remain shut down as the investigators have not determined where the leak occurred. US Coast Guard personnel told WTLA.us that there is no update on the case, it remains under investigation. A recent report investigated by LDEQ involved an unknown amount of diesel fuel spilled at a boat launch in Amelia in the month of February. Spills are tagged in pink by location on the maps and listed under the spill button to the right of the map.
Spills reported to the Ohio EPA Emergency spill line recently include human sewage spill impacting a creek in the Scioto River watershed, part of the Mississippi basin. For more information, see the pink location tags on our maps, and refer to the spill button to the right of the map.
NY DEC Emergency spill hotline received a report of a spill of unknown amount of gasoline from a gas station in Rome impacting the Mohawk River, a tributary of the Hudson River bound for the Atlantic Ocean via Long Island Sound.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division takes the reports of sediment erosion, sewage spills, diesel spills from traffic accidents and all other hazardous materials spills in the state. Georgia spill laws require anyone with knowledge of the spill to report immediately, defined as 15 minutes. At present, a vehicle is reported submerged in a Flint River watershed tributary near Barnesville, an excavation company is reported having built a dam that is causing flooding upstream. Several tractor-trailer accidents have released hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel on the roadways. Spills are cleaned up professional responders, often the tow truck, where absorbent material is placed to contain the spill, the contaminated material containerized, hauled away and stored for permanent disposal by companies holding hazardous waste clean-ups. WT Group appreciates what you do.
USGS Provisional Data Statement
Data are provisional and subject to revision until they have been thoroughly reviewed and received final approval. Current condition data relayed by satellite or other telemetry are automatically screened to not display improbable values until they can be verified.
Provisional data may be inaccurate due to instrument malfunctions or physical changes at the measurement site. Subsequent review based on field inspections and measurements may result in significant revisions to the data.
Data users are cautioned to consider carefully the provisional nature of the information before using it for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational consequences. Information concerning the accuracy and appropriate uses of these data or concerning other hydrologic data may be obtained from the USGS.
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