3/22/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Maumee River tributary records extreme low flow
Streamflows much below seasonal normal statewide
Water news for Friday, March 22, 2024 409 pm EDT
Streamflow Situation provisional data supplied by USGS
Much below seasonal normal streamflows began taking over the Ohio network of flow monitoring stations Thursday with all basins on equal footing to become dry in short order. Wednesday we saw equal parts normal and below normal with five monitors much below normal, Thursday the trend shifted drought-ward, predominantly below normal to much below normal with a few normal readings.
All basins appear similarly drought-wise Friday. Northwest Lake Erie drainage basin has the greatest number of stations still rated normal. As of this update, Blanchard River has reached 1st percentile, extreme low flow. Normal is the highest flow rating on the dashboard, there are no highs or active flooding.
As many Ohio drinking water facilities are supplied from surface water bodies including lakes, rivers and reservoirs, the streamflow situation is pertinent to both drinking water supply and quality. High flows can stir up sediment and cause turbidity in the raw source water, requiring additional treatment to render the water potable. Low flow volume is linked to shallower conditons and warmer temperatures in surface water bodies, which can be an issue for water quality where HABs are present.
WTOH.us tracks current streamflow conditions with an eye to the impacts on drinking water supply and quality in 32 watersheds of the state's 5 drainage basins. Check the watershed layer on the map to see the high and low streamflows that may be impacting drinking water water in Ohio today.
Drought Map USGS 7-day average streamflow against seasonal average
Upper Ohio River minor tributary Little Beaver Creek watershed joins Lake Erie basin Ashtabula-Chagrin River watershed at the below normal rating Friday. Given the streamflow trends tilting toward low flow, expect to see the drought map fill up over the weekend.
Flood Tracker provisional data from USGS streamflow monitors
Twenty-four stream gauges record flood stage in continental USA Friday afternoon, up from twenty this time yesterday. WT is currently tracking flooding at twelve of these locations, six located in Georgia and six in Louisiana. No flooding recorded in the USGS monitoring network for NYS or Ohio at this time.
Two rivers continue to flood in south Georgia Friday. Satilla River has retreated back inside its channel overnight leaving the Altamaha and Savannah Rivers the last players active on the March 6 - 22, 2024 flood dashboard. Altamaha River began to show the first signs of slowing down at its top end yesterday, still more than a foot over flood stage at half the water volume seen recently. Downstream monitors near Baxley, at Doctortown and at Everett City record water levels from ten inches to three and a half feet over, the total flow volume increases from 33 to 43 to 53 to 63 thousand cubic feet per second from the top end to the bottom. The greatest water volume has already moved toward the outlet on the Atlantic Coast at Brunswick. Savannah River is still well above flood stage, starting to taper off at Burtons Ferry Rd near Milhaven, still increasing downstream near Cylo. More to follow. This flood won't be ending anytime soon.
See black tags on the map for flood levels updated daily and a running timeline of the March 2024 flood event here: WaterToday Georgia
Louisiana is consistent, the same four water bodies are flooding another day in Regions 1, 4 and 7, covering the west border and east state border in flood. The same six monitoring stations are lighting up the flood dashboard Friday, Bayou Dorcheat is still flooding near Springhill and downstream Minden, trending down. Bayou Bodcau continues to rise near Shreveport, currently six feet over flood stage. Pearl River is more than two and a half feet out of the channel near Bogalusa and downstream at the municipality of Pearl River. Both stations are recording a declining flow trend.
See the black tags on the map for updated flood flow values at WaterToday Louisiana https://www.wtla.us
Hazardous Spills
Spills in Ohio are reported to the 24 hour emergency spill hotline with response handled by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency 24/7 at 1-800-282-9378 or 614-224-0946. Anyone with knowledge of a spill of hazardous material is to make a report. Refer to the Spill button to the right of the map for more details on the latest incidents reported to OEPA.
Drinking Water Advisories
Columbiana County - Some water connections in Calcutta came under BWA a water main break Wednesday. The Buckeye Water District has issued the boil advisory for all of Meadowbrook Circle until further notice.
Athens County - several streets in Nelsonville were impacted by a boil water order following a water main break Wednesday Mar 20.
See yellow tags on the map for more boil water advisories.
Harmful Algal Blooms - Lake Erie HAB from National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
Ohio EPA cites spring rains as the main factor dislodging and transporting nutrients off the landscape of Maumee River watershed into the Lake Erie west basin. To the degree that we have rain, we can expect to see the mobilization of dissolved phosphate toward Lake Erie, which in turn feeds cyanobacteria resident in the lake. WTOH has kept a watchful eye on the sleepy HAB over the winter, with localized dribs and drabs popping up from time to time, all at moderate to low concentration.
After the storms last week and reported flooding of Portage and Tiffin Rivers over the weekend, more HAB activity is showing up in Lake Erie, it looks like the HAB may be stirring from its winter slumber.
In a recent satellite image supplied by the NCCOS dated March 17, we see HAB activity in open water off Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge, along shore at Magee Marsh and Metzger Marsh wildlife areas, up in the Portage River channel upstream of the outlet at Port Clinton, and along the shoreline between Vermilion River and Huron River outlets. The flurry of new HAB activity is notable. So far, all HABs have the appearance of moderate concentration, 100 thousand cells per 100 ml or less.
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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