3/23/2024
WT Staff
WEEKEND WATER REPORT
NWS: Flood watch until tonight
Heavy rain for NYC
Water news for Saturday, March 23, 2024 updated 1259 pm
National Weather Serivce Hazardous Weather Outlook issued 612 am March 23
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central New York and northeast Pennsylvania.
FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. A portion of southeast New York, including the following areas, Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Northeast Suffolk, Northern Nassau, Northern Queens, Northwest Suffolk, Richmond (Staten Island), Southeast Suffolk, Southern Nassau, Southern Queens and Southwest Suffolk.
IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.
Prolonged rainfall will occur today into tonight, and may be heavy at times. A total of 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain is forecast with locally higher amounts possible. There is an increasing potential for flooding, which could linger into late tonight. click for Weather.gov Flood Safety
Monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. Please relay any information about severe weather to the NWS.
Impacting New York (Manhattan)-Bronx-Richmond (Staten Island)-Kings(Brooklyn)-Northwest Suffolk-Northeast Suffolk-Southwest Suffolk-Southeast Suffolk-Northern Queens-Northern Nassau-Southern Queens-Southern Nassau Counties
Flood Tracker provisional data from USGS streamflow monitors
Twenty streamflow gauges record flood stage in continental USA Saturday, down from twenty-four this time yesterday.
WT tracks flooding at twelve of these locations, six located in Georgia and six in Louisiana. As of this report, NY and OH are not seeing active flooding in the USGS network. More to follow as the rain falls on NYC and flood watch in effect.
Two streamflow gauges have begun lighting up the flood map Saturday afternoon, reaching 99th percentile flows on Long Island, NY, currently under NWS Flood Watch. Valley Stream is flowing high at Valley Stream, running 1.82 ft deep at 42.9 cubic feet per second. A tributary to Bellmore Creek is flowing 99th percentile at Bellmore, running 2.64 ft deep at 16.6 cubic feet per second. These monitoring stations do not have established flood stages, so we will not know when overflow occurs. Local weather spotters are encouraged to report to NWS.
Two rivers continue to flood in south Georgia Saturday. Altamaha River began to show the first signs of slowing down at its top end Thursday, receding half a foot overnight. As of this report, the flood level measured near Charlotteville is just over half a foot above flood stage. Downstream monitors near Baxley, at Doctortown and at Everett City record water levels from half a foot to three feet over. Flow volume provisional data captures the reduced volume Saturday, from 33 thousand Friday down to 28600 cubic feet per second near Charlotteville, the bulk of flood water has shifted downstream toward the outlet, still above 60 thousand cubic feet per second moving through Everett City to the outlet at Brunswick. Savannah River is still chugging along a foot and a half above flood stage near Milhaven and four feet out of the channel near Cylo.
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 records flooding on the same six monitors Saturday. In Region 1 watershed in the northwest, Bayou Dorcheat runs two feet over flood stage near Springhill, a foot and inches over flood stage downstream at Minden, trending down. Bayou Bodcau has levelled off overnight, still six feet above flood stage near Shreveport. In Region 4 in the southwest, Sabine River runs six inches above flood stage according to the monitor located near Ruliff, TX. In the east, Pearl River holds a steady two and a half feet above flood stage spreading out at 331800 cubic feet per second near Bogalusa, more than two and a half feet over downstream at the municipality of Pearl River.
See the black tags on the map for updated flood flow values at WaterToday Louisiana https://www.wtla.us
Streamflow Situation from USGS current streamflow monitors
Streamflow monitors on Long Island have crept up to much above seasonal normal as rain falls in the southeast. Flood watch is in effect until late tonight. So far, Valley Stream, Bellmore Creek and Swan River are running above 90th percentile, none of these yet measured above the 99th percentile extreme high.
Northeast drainage basin is running a seasonal normal level Saturday. West NYS is mostly below normal. South flowing waterways run normal. More to follow.
No active flooding or extreme high or low flows observed as of this report.
Check blue tags for 99th percentile flows, black tags for flood.
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
Allegheny River watershed area in central Chautauqua County has accelerated into moderate hydrologic drought state with adjacent Cattaraugus County rated below normal. Lower Geneseee River watershed remains below normal.
Drinking Water Matters
Downtown Rochester and some neighborhoods west of Genesee River came under a BWA Tuesday after the body of a man was removed from the Highland Park Reservoir. The City water plant switched over to alternate supply while the Highland Park reservoir was drained, cleaned and refilled. Monroe County Department of Environmental Health ordered the Boil Notice out of an abundance of caution, the City District schools closed Wednesday. Students returned to school on Thursday. See the report on Rochester City Water for more information on how water plants respond to security threats to maintain the safety of the public water supply.
Hazardous Spills Report a spill 1-800-457-7362
One hundred people were evacuated from the HP Hood facility and surrounding area on Ward St in Vernon on December 22, 2023 after a chlorine gas leak was discovered. WTNY.us did not find this incident report in the NYS open data records during our daily searches through December. Coverage in local news media prompted this Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request for details of the incident serious enough to warrant a general evacuation, yet seeming not appearing in the public records.
According to the partially redacted Incident Report from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation Spill reporting line, the cause of the release of chlorine gas was operator error. "CALLER IS REPORTING THAT A DELIVERY COMPANY HOOKED UP TO THE WRONG TANK AND THE COMBINATION OF THE MATERIALS IN THIS TANK HAS BEEN RELEASING CHLORINE GAS INTO THE AIR. CALLER STATES THIS MAY OR MAY NOT REACH THE REPORTABLE QUANTITY AMOUNT."
It is not clear why this incident does not appear in the NYS Open Data portal. Local media responded and reported on the scene, always a vitally important source of local news, and we appreciate the lead. The incident report obtained through FOIL demonstrates how spill incidents are handled by the National Response Center, communicating and coordinating with two dozen state and federal agencies to ensure public safety and compliance. No injuries are reported in conjunction with this event.
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.
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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