4/28/2024
WT Staff
WEEKEND WATER REPORT
Sunday Edition
Drought expands to Lake Erie basin Chautauqua County
Water news for Sunday, April 28, 2024 136 pm EDT
Flows and Flood Tracker provisional data from the network of USGS streamflow monitors
Sixty-seven streamflow gauges record flooding in the USA Sunday, up from thirty-five Saturday. WT tracks the nation's most common natural disaster dynamics through the states of New York, Ohio, Georgia and Louisiana. As of this report we are tracking 3 active floods monitored in the USGS network, all in Louisiana.
NYS drought map continues to expand Sunday, with a progression from below normal into moderate drought over the Black River watershed. A new area of below normal rated area has appeared in the Lake Erie watershed Sunday, including a strip along Lake Erie shoreline running through Chautauqua County. Lake Ontario minor tributaries west section, St Lawrence and Lake Champlain watersheds are rated below normal as reported the last few days. As of this report the below normal area includes Upper Hudson River watershed south Washington and north Rensselaer Counties. Much below seasonal normal flow values persist through the north Sunday. No active flooding recorded as of this report, a second station has hit the 90th percentile on Long Island, and Swan River is still registering high flow at East Patchogue.
In Louisiana, Calcasieu River has overrun the channel for the fifth time this year near Glenmora. Flooding began last night around 930 pm, currently running an inch over at the time of this report, on a sharp increasing flow trend. Note the last flood on the Calcasieu River near Glenmora was April 10 - 20, reaching major flood stage on April 18. This new flood event replaces Region 1's Bayou Dorcheat, no longer flooding near Springhill as of yesterday evening. Flooding near Springhill ended around 3 am this morning. The first time Bayou Dorcheat ran out of the channel this year was Jan 23 - Feb 21, the second flooding March 8 - 31. This latest flood started April 9, going on three weeks even as an area of extreme drought has developed in the east part of the state. Bayou Bodcau continues to recede near Shreveport, nine feet over flood stage. In Region 4, Sabine River is down another three inches overnight, running a foot over near Ruliff, TX.
Georgia's spring flooding came to an end Thursday, winding up 50 days of continuous disruption of roadways and contamination of waterways. See Special Flood Report: Timeline of river flooding in Georgia for the progress of flooding as observed on the USGS network of streamflow gauges. Georgia's drought map shifted slightly overnight, the area rated below normal in the Savannah River watershed shrunk away from the river channel along Richmond, Burke and Screven Counties, leaving a smaller strip rated below normal through the center of those Counties. Area rated below normal in the north appear as reported yesterday, including the Tenessee River east and west drainage areas, the Coosa River watershed also rated below normal again Sunday.
In Ohio, the eastward progression of much below normal rated streamflows continues, what started with below normal readings in the Great Miami basin spread to much below normal into Scioto, then Muskingum yesterday, now the much below normal trend extends all the way to the east border in the Ohio River minor tributaries basins. The drought map has taken more territory overnight, including watersheds on both sides of the state divide. In the Lake Erie basin, Blanchard River watershed is below normal. Huron-Vermilion Rivers, Black-Rocky Rivers and Ashtabula-Chagrin Rivers watersheds are rated below normal Sunday. South of the state divide, the Little Muskingum River and Ohio River minor tributary Brush-White Oak Creek watersheds remain below normal Sunday, joined by the Little Miami River watershed. As of this report, there are no extreme high or low flows recorded in Ohio streamflow network.
See black tags on the map for active flood, blue for high flow, 99th percentile or more.
As many 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. WT tracks streamflow trends with an eye to the impacts on drinking water supply and quality in each of the state's watersheds. Check the watershed layer on the map to see the direction of flow and streamflows that may be impacting drinking water today.
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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