12/1/2024
WT Staff
 Got water questions? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email us at info@wtny.us
December 1, 2024 updated 1131 am EST
Newburgh water main break, BWA
Safe Drinking Water Advisories
Orange County: Newburgh City has issued a BWA for customers connecting to potable water distribution lines located north of North Plank Road (Route 32) and East of Fostertown Road due to a major water main break this morning.
According to the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History online, Newburgh City Water supplies 29,000 people from a surface water source in the Lower Hudson River watershed. Newburgh City indicates source water supply Washington Lake was replaced in 2016 by the New York Catskill aqueduct as a measure to address PFAS "forever chemical" contamination in Washington Lake. US EPA added six per and poly fluoro-alkine chemcials to the Safe Drinking Water Act regulation earlier this year. Drinking water facilities are required to meet new maximum contaminant levels set for these dangerous chemicals in drinking water. Facilities are adjusting to address the updated regulations by using alternate sources or implementing treatment technologies by 2029.
WT HAB Tracker from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)early detection program
This is the first cold season with satellite surveillance of New York State waters. WTNY.us looks up the daily images supplied by the NCCOS for signs of bluegreen algae activity in Lake Champlain, curious to see what happens through the first winter of the publicly available HAB monitoring data.
The latest upload of Lake Champlain is dated November 30, a fully cloud obscured image with no HAB activity observed. We will continue to monitor for signs of cyanobacteria as the presence of the HABs through the cold season is an indication for drinking water facilities to continue testing for the associated toxins.
See our final HAB report for the 2024 season, including an alphabetical list of the impacted water bodies, the date of first appearance of bluegreen confirmed and the total HABs for the water body this year, here.
Streamflow Situation from the network of USGS monitoring sites in NYS
Clear today, sunny in NYC and upstate in freezing temperatures for the first day of December. NYC will get above freezing this afternoon, high 39. Binghamton forecast center reporting an expected high below freezing, just 31 today.
Streamflows continue at seasonal normal upstate north and west with lower water levels in the central drainage basin. West of the Catskills in the Schoharie Creek watershed subregion of the Mohawk River we are seeing much below normal water levels Sunday, in the bottom 10th percentile of historic streamflows for this date. Schoharie Creek carries runoff from the west slopes of the Catskills north to the Mohawk River, then east to the Hudson River. Streamflows in this critical region of NYS gather surface runoff from rainfall and snowmelt into the drinking water reservoirs supplying the daily needs for 15 million New Yorkers and visitors. New precipitation levels and all surface conditions, including air pollution and contaminant spills impact the raw water quality of the drinking water supplies. NYS licensed drinking water facilities treat this water to remove contaminants, disinfect and produce some of the highest quality drinking water in North America.
Drought ratings are down to isolated patches of below normal moisture in all four drainage areas of NYS. In the northwest flowing watersheds, the Lake Ontario minor tributaries west and east sections are below normal, for the south and southeast draining watersheds, Chemung River is rated below normal. In the northeast, we have Lake Champlain at moderate drought in north Washington County and the east edge of Essex, along with central St Lawrence River watershed rated below normal. The central drainage basin is rated below normal in both the Upper and Lower Hudson River watersheds Sunday. Dutchess County remains unrated.
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