7/16/2024
WT Staff
 HAPPENING NOW
Tuesday, July 16 2024
NWS: Heat advisory
July 16, 2024 updated 453 pm EDT
URGENT Weather Message issued 322 am July 16
HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...Heat index values up to 100 in Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Northern Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), and Southern Queens Counties. Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.
New York City residents should call 3 1 1 to identify cooling center
locations and obtain `Beat the Heat` safety tips. A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any length of time.
Seniors and those with chronic health problems or mental health
conditions are at an increased risk. Homes without air conditioning
can be much hotter than outdoor temperatures. Use air conditioning to stay cool at home or go to a place that has air conditioning. If you don`t have home air conditioning, continue to seek out cool spaces each day as long as it remains hot, and for a few days after if your home is still hot. Check on vulnerable friends, family members and neighbors.
To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in
shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat
should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.
Streamflow Situation from the network of monitors of USGS NY Water Science Center
Northwest streamflows have elevated overnight, as high as 98th percentile high flows and much above seasonal normal flows recorded in the Niagara River - Lake Erie, Lake Ontario minor tributaries west and central sections, Genesee River watershed and Oswego River - Finger Lakes watershed. Northeast drainage remains much above normal to high through the Lake Ontario east watershed, Black River, St Lawrence River and Lake Champlain River watersheds. South and central drainage basins run mostly normal with below seasonal normal values calculated in the Ramapo River and Lower Hudson River watersheds. No active flooding or 99th percentile flows at this report, no extreme lows. The NYS drought map is completely blank Tuesday, the Lake Ontario west section severe drought has ended.
WT HAB Tracker from state sources and where available, the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
New York
A clear image of Lake Champlain was snapped by Copernicus-Sentinel III satellite yesterday showing the northeast Baie Missisquoi HAB taking up the water down Alburg Springs and the Alburg-Swanton Bridge at a high concentration 700 to 800 thousand cells per 100 ml. One hot spot is visible near the northeast shore in Canada.
From the NYS HABs reporting center, we are looking at ninety-two HABs confirmed in the interior freshwater lakes and streams of NY, down from ninety-four this time yesterday. Added to the list of water bodies impacted by HABs today we see Georgica Pond and Brooks Lake. HAB reports made prior to July 3 have been archived, clearing Conesus Lake, Putnam Lake and Whitney Point Lake from the list. See bluegreen tags on the map to the right, the full list of water bodies impacted is found here.
Louisiana: The latest upload from the NCCOS was taken yesterday, July 15 at surface wind speed 7.9 mph. This image is partially cloud obscured, we have a partial view of southeast LA water bodies, including the Lake Pontchartrain HAB. Hot spots in this image are as yesterday, Wetland Watchers Park and the water between Bayou Shaffer and the Avoca Island cutoff south of Avoca, both of these waters have concentration 2 million cells per 100 ml. Lakewide HABs in Lake Verret and Lake Palourde are visible again today, 800 to 900 thousand cells per 100 ml. Southeast LA water bodies at are captured in a wide angle pass by the Copernicus-Sentinel III satellite, with Lake Pontchartrain to Avoca Cutoff to Black Bay in frame. Updates are in progress. The last HAB report for Louisiana is available here.
California: Algal toxin alerts have been posted around Discovery Bay, Clear Lake, Lake Temescal, San Antonio Lake, Forbes Creek according to the weekly update from California Water Boards Freshwater HABs monitoring program. Beach signage bearing the captions DANGER or WARNING state "Toxins from the algae in this water can harm humans and kill animals", followed by a string of safety measures. For the latest report, click here.
Ohio: Lake Erie west basin HABs latest image from NCCOS was captured Monday July 15 at a surface wind speed 18.5 mph. This image shows the shoreline edge of the Lake Erie bloom from Maumee Bay up the west shoreline to the Canadian border. The high wind speed is likely acting on the bloom mass to hide its full extent. This HAB is captured in a low wind speed clear image from Saturday July 13 extending more than fifteen nautical miles into the lake. In the new image, the open water area of the HAB is not visible. The Sandusky Bay bloom Aphanizomenon occupies a larger area, filling the bay west and east of OH-269 in a broken or dispersed pattern. The concentration of Sandusky Bay HAB is 700 to 800 thousand cells per 100 ml. Updates to the HAB report are in progress. The latest Ohio HAB report is available here.
Georgia: According to the USGS, Georgia is one of six states in the USA where no anecdotal reports have been made of HAB toxin-related poisonings. Scant information is available information on the presence of HABs, including a single account from Chattahoochee River Keeper of a suspected animal death related to HABS several years ago. Georgia Environmental Protection Division takes reports on suspicious algal blooms from the public and from the Shoreline Managers of the Power Lakes, the impoundment lakes created by the network of hydroelectric dams in Georgia. One HAB report was made to Georgia EPD in all of 2023. According to EPD spokesperson Sara Lips, there have been no HAB reports so far in 2024. The Georgia Healthy Beaches program of Coastal Public Health tests beaches for bacteria, posting permanent and temporary advisories to warn the public. The latest Georgia beach advisories are available here.
Drinking Water Advisories
Clinton County- Lake Champlain watershed: Greater Plattsburgh Water District and part of the Town of Plattsburgh came under BWA following a water main break yesterday. Customers connecting at 12 Cornelia Street, 170 Margaret Street and 6-38 Miller Street are impacted by the order until further notice. Town Plattsburgh, Beekmantown and Schuyler Falls do their annual water quality reporting together. Customers of these facilities are served from groundwater wells in Clinton County.
Oneida County: Barneveld Water District has a partial BWA in place for customers that lost pressure following a water main break yesterday. The system serves a total of 400 customers through approximately 171 service connections. The water source is a system of springs located outside the village on village owned property. Water is filtered and disinfected with chlorine prior to entering the distribution system.
See the North American drainage basin map here, scroll all the way down to see how surface water moves across the continent into the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Arctic Oceans. WT Media Group tells the story of water in three countries, Canada, USA and Mexico. See the drinking water advisories, hazardous spills, floods, drought and harmful algal blooms plotted on the maps, as the water flows. Check out the CrimeBox for historic prosecutions under the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act box for details on public drinking water facilities, interviews with the scientists and tech developers on the leading edge of clean water technology here.
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.
Harmful Algal Blooms: WT follows the movement and growth of harmful algal blooms (HABs) as provided by the satellite monitoring program of the NCCOS for New York's Lake Champlain, Ohio's Lake Erie and Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding area. Interpretation of satellite images is best in clear conditions at wind speed less than 4 mph, where the appearance and extent of HABs is reliably matched to a color scale for concentration. HABs are known to produce algal toxins of concern for raw drinking water sources and recreational water bodies. Plan beach access to avoid HABs and consider carrying a rapid test kit to detect the toxin microcystins.
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