2/2/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Drinking Water Matters
Remembering East Palestine, Ohio
Water news for Friday, February 2, 2024 - updated 942 am EST
Drinking Water Matters
Safe drinking water is first principle for every municipality, one of the primary responsibilities to be administered for citizens. Potable water supply has been challenging town engineers for millenia, as long as towns and cities have existed. From protecting the source water from sabotage, to the collection of raw water, the filtration, treatment, monitoring take up a great space in the arena of Public Works. Distribution of clean, safe water to the tap improved drastically with the discovery of an alternative material to lead and copper. The first use of the new technology water pipes was in Europe just prior to WWII. PVC pipes passed all test expectations, widely adopted for the drinking water infrastructure as fast as municipal administrators could "get the lead out".
Benefits to replacing lead and copper pipes with PVC, absolutely. Risk? Calculated. PVC is made from vinyl chloride, the gas hauled by common carriers like Norfolk Southern, in certified and inspected tank cars across the network of track to domestic manufacturers such as found in the US midwest.
As we remember the Norfolk Southern hazardous materials spill incident a year ago on Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, what have we collectively learned? Stay with us as we break down the elements of the risk-benefit of advanced technologies with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight. This discussion is our tribute to the residents of East Palestine and the first responders confronted with the immediate threat to life, to those with on-going health issues today, to the businesses forced to close their doors, we acknowledge the price paid by our neighbors for the advancement of clean, safe drinking water we all must have.
Join the discussion, how do we grip the benefits of advanced technologies while managing the risks? Email info@wtoh.us with your comments.
Streamflow Situation from USGS WaterWatch
Streamflows have backed off slightly overnight to an even mix of above normal and much above normal ratings. Long Island water bodies have jumped ahead, from predominantly normal to above normal ratings overnight. Valley Stream remains the one station flowing much above seasonal normal, 92 percentile.
As of this update, there is no active flooding at NYS monitored USGS stations. There are no extreme high (99th percentile) ratings, nor any extreme low (1 percentile) flows to be tagged on the map.
Current streamflows on Long Island are in the range of seasonal normal with no extremes to report.
Drought Map USGS 7-day average streamflow against seasonal average
No part of NYS appears on the drought map Friday morning.
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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