3/17/2024
WT Staff
WEEKEND WATER REPORT
Reynolds Channel flooding at Point Lookout
Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana floods
Water news for Sunday, March 17, 2024 updated 431 pm EDT
Streamflow Situation from USGS current streamflow monitors
Reynolds Channel is flooding at Point Lookout on the east end of Long Beach Barrier Island, near Lido Beach and Long Beach municipality. The water level is currently two feet above flood stage. More to follow.
Flow into Lake Champlain remains above normal to much above seasonal normal. Streamflow monitor at Port Henry shows a stable water level a foot below flood stage, as it was this time yesterday.
Upper Hudson River watershed remains much above normal Sunday from North Creek to Fort Edward, the rated stations dropping down to above normal at Waterford, shifting to normal from Green Island to outlet. Long Island retains three stations rated much above normal.
Southeast basin Chemung and Susquehanna River watersheds continue to run at seasonal normal levels. Delaware River streamflows above normal to much above normal, Ramapo remains at normal flow readings for this day in water recording history.
For the west state, Lower Genesee and Niagara River - Lake Erie drainage area streamflows have picked up to normal level, just one site measured below normal. Lower Genesee River is down to a single station recording much below normal. Oswego River-Finger Lakes streamflows are mostly normal, two stations remain below normal.
Apart from one station recording coastal flooding, there are no extreme high or extreme low flows observed as of this report.
Check blue tags for 99th percentile flows.
As many NYS drinking water facilities are supplied from surface water reservoirs, the streamflow situation is pertinent to both drinking water supply and quality. High flows can stir up sediment and cause turbidity in the reservoirs, requiring additional treatments to render the water potable. Low flow volume is linked to warmer temperatures in the reservoir and can be an issue for water quality where HABs are present. WTNY.us tracks streamflow trends with an eye to the impacts on drinking water supply and quality in each of the state's 17 watersheds. Check the watershed layer on the map to see the direction of flow and streamflows that may be impacting drinking water today.
Drought Map 7-day average streamflows
Niagara River - Lake Erie watershed area rated below normal has shrunk down to a strip along the boundary between Niagara and Erie County Sunday. Lower Geneseee River watershed remains below normal.
Flooding in the USA
from USGS streamflow monitors provisional data
Thirty-eight sites mark flooding across the network of the USGS streamflow monitors in continental USA by late Sunday afternoon.
WT is tracking flooding in four states. One station records flooding in NY as reported above. One station in Ohio runs just above flood stage beginning 1130 pm last night, Tiffin River is currently running a hair over and receding at Stryker. Four stations record flooding in Louisiana Sunday afternoon including Bayou Dorcheat near Springhill, Bayou Bodcau near Shreveport, Pearl River near Bogalusa and downstream municipality of Pearl River.
Georgia leads in the flooding department with eleven stations ringing the flood alarms by Sunday afternoon. The current flooding event began on March 6 with heavy rain through north and central Georgia. Major rivers still flooding include the lower Flint River, heading for the Gulf of Mexico and the Ocmulgee, Oconee, Altamaha, Savannah, Ogeechee, Ohoopee Rivers heading for the Atlantic Ocean. Refer to black tags on the maps for updated flood flow levels, blue tags for 99th percentile high flows.
WaterToday Georgia
WaterToday Louisiana
WaterToday Ohio
Hazardous Spills Report a spill 1-800-457-7362
Home heating fuel oil spills continue to plague the estimated 2 million homes are heating with #2 fuel oil and kerosene.
Reported in a single day this past week, March 11, two callers with large heating oil spills in residence, 160 gallons spilled in the Bronx and 190 gallons spilled in Chenango Forks. A caller to the NY DEC Emergency Spill hotline reported 200 gallons of kerosene spilled at a private residence in Ithaca last week March 7. The cause of the spills is noted as equipment failure.
Spills impacting water on this same day, March 11 include a spill of unknown amount of manure into Flint Creek at Phelps, and an unknown material spilled into Beaver Creek in the Niagara Lake Erie watershed near Dunkirk.
NY DEC Emergency spill hotline takes reports of hazardous materials spills from anyone with knowledge of a spill. Professional responders are dispatched to contain spills and remove hazardous materials. Note that a spill of one gallon of home heating oil inside a residence is considered a large spill requiring professional response and cleanup. Ventilate the building and clear the area if a spill of fuel oil #2 occurs inside your home, and call the emergency spill line.
Drinking Water Matters
No one is boiling their tap water to make it safe in New York today, a mark of the prosperity of water supply and water quality, of the prosperity of municipal infrastructure and the skill of the excavators in missing buried water lines as they dig in new cable for internet. How good to see no yellow tags on the map.
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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