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8/7/2024
WT Staff
 August 7, 2024 901 PDT
HAPPENING NOW
NWS: Excessive Heat Warning
URGENT Weather Message issued 135 am August 7 by NWS San Joaquin/Hanford
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT THIS
EVENING...Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures of 103 to
108 expected in a portion of central California. Heat related illnesses increase significantly during
extreme heat events.
Warm overnight lows around 70 degrees in rural areas and around 80 degrees in urban areas.
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.
Impacting West Side Mountains north of 198-Los Banos - Dos Palos-Merced -
Madera - Mendota-Planada - Le Grand - Snelling-Coalinga - Avenal-
West Side of Fresno and Kings Counties-Caruthers - San Joaquin -
Selma-Fresno-Clovis-West Side Mountains South of 198-Buttonwillow
- Lost Hills - I5-Delano-Wasco-Shafter-Hanford - Corcoran -
Lemoore-Visalia - Porterville - Reedley-Buena Vista-Bakersfield-
Southeast San Joaquin Valley-South End San Joaquin Valley-
Mariposa Madera Foothills-Fresno-Tulare Foothills-South End
Sierra Foothills-
Including the cities of Bakersfield, Corcoran, Mariposa, Selma,
Atwater, Kerman, Le Grand, Lamont, San Luis Reservoir, Visalia,
Porterville, Blackwells Corner, Lost Hills, Goshen, Delano, El
Portal, Fresno, Avenal, Millerton Lake, Richgrove, Shafter,
Madera, Tulare, Sanger, Arvin, Kettleman City, Taft,
Buttonwillow, Planada, Lake Mcclure, Coalinga, Lemoore Station,
McKittrick, Hanford, Five Points, Lemoore, Los Banos, Parlier,
Alpaugh, Wasco, Kingsburg, and Merced
WT HAB Tracker from state sources and where available, the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
California:
Clear Lake is a popular tourist spot just over an hour drive from San Fransisco, hit especially hard this season with HABs, harmful algal blooms also known as bluegreen algae. An article in the Los Angeles Times May 31, 2024 demonstrated the change in Clear Lake based on satellite images taken on the same day in May in 2023 and 2024. The bluegreen algae bloom in 2024 has been especially extensive.
Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians started a monitoring program with Elem Indian Colony to monitor the cyanobacteria blooms in Clear Lake. According to information published by Big Valley Band, the problematic bluegreen algae began to be a regular occurrence in 2009. By 2012, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) was calling for the monitoring of HABs and their toxins for public safety. Big Valley Pomo and Elem initiated the monitoring program, showing advisories in effect. Since 2021, Big Valley has continued the monitoring program on its own. More to follow.
The weekly update from California Harmful Algal Bloom monitoring of July 26 had Clear Lake written up with ten HAB Danger postings that were removed in the following report, August 2. Big Valley information indicates there are still HAB postings, though no cyanotoxin results are available. More to follow.
The freshwater HAB report for August 2 has seven water bodies statewide under DANGER level advisories, including Lago Los Osos, Lake Chabot, Lake Anza, Discovery Bay, Contra Loma Reservoir, Big Break Regional Shoreline and Copsey Creek. Three water bodies are posted with HAB Warning level advisories, including Discovery Bay, Tahoe Keys and San Luis Reservoir's Dinosaur Point Boat Launch. Caution advisories are posted for another 31 sites. See the California HAB tracker report with advisories by watershed region, HAB DANGER and WARNING advisories are pinned to the map with bluegreen tags, the full list is here.
Louisiana: The latest upload from the NCCOS was captured August 6 at wind speed 2.2 mph. This image is clear showing the area of higher concentration that started August 5 midlake in Lac Des Allemands has expanded over most of the west bay, this is increasing in concentration, well over 1 million cells per 100 ml approaching 2 million cells in the center. Lake Pontchartrain is showing some lower concentration HAB activity near the northwest shore, widespread HAB off shore from Manchac Wildlife Management Area. HABs are again observed in Lakes Cataouache and Salvador, Lakes Verret and Palourde appear as we have reported here over weeks, lakewide blooms around 800 to 900 thousand cells per 100 ml. Water south of Lake Palourde carries a lakewide HAB up to 2 million cells in the north, Lake Boeuf appears as reported yesterday, lakewide HAB around 800 thousand cells per 100 ml. The pond north of Burnside appears to be increasing in concentration, 3 million cells. Keep pets leashed around these water bodies to avoid contact with high concentration HAB mats and scum, the likelihood of toxins is high in these conditions. See the full report here.
Georgia:
Georgia's Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island beaches are regularly tested for bacteria with lab results and advisories posted on Georgia Healthy Beaches online. This is a proram of Coastal Public Health out of Brunswick laboratory. Jekyll Island has two permanent advisories in place, both beaches tested clear for bacteria in the last quarterly water sample taken July 1, 2024. As of this report, all St Simons Island and Jekyll Island beaches are shaded in green, indicating water meets the safety guidelines for bacteria. No new information has been found on the presence of HABs in Georgia since our last update. Georgia Environmental Protection Division does accept reports from the public of suspicious algal blooms. As we receive updates from EPD, the results will be found here. The latest Georgia beach advisories are available here.
New York
Two hundred and sixteen active HABs are confirmed in New York State midweek, a new report confirmed in Tully Lake is the first of the season. Seneca Lake takes the prize for total number of bluegreen reports, 57 in total running the length of the water body, more reports coming from the east side. Neighboring Finger Lakes Cayuga, Canandaigua, Owasco, Skaneateles all riddled with HABs. All reports made prior to July 24 have been archived. See bluegreen tags on the map for the impacted water bodies with at least one active HAB, updates are in progress through the day. The list is here.
No new images have come in from NCCOS since our last report, the latest satellite image of Lake Champlain was captured August 4 at unknown wind speed. This is a clear image showing Baie Missisquoi HAB reaches 2 million cells per 100 ml along the northern shoreline. The southward press of this HAB extends to Alburg-Swanton bridge. A widespread HAB in St. Albans Bay appears in the same position in the inner bay along shore matching the concentration color scale for around 600 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Carmi in Vermont is visible in this image, sporting a widespread HAB at extreme high concentration 1 to 2 million cells per 100 ml, with the hot spot along the inner bay shoreline.
Lake Erie west basin: Ohio, Michigan
No new images have been uploaded for Lake Erie since our last two reports, the latest satellite view from NCCOS was captured August 4 at a low wind condition seldom seen in Lake Erie, 2.2 mph. This is a perfectly clear image of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay HABs with a reliable assessment of the position and extent of the HAB area. The change from Saturday to Sunday this last weekend was especially noteworthy. Maumee Bay State Park HAB escalated from approximately triple from 1 to 3 million along the west half of Maumee Bay State Park shoreline. Ohio Department of Health removed the recreational public health advisory for algal toxin on Maumee Bay State Park beach Monday morning. As it takes many days between the water sample date and microcystins test results, the satellite photo here indicates Maumee Bay State Park still has a serious HAB issue and continue to exercise caution, avoid this water. Sandusky Bay HAB Aphanizomenon appears as dispersed open water mats holding the 500 to 600 thousand cells per 100 ml pattern. EPA guidelines for two common algal toxin are given below. See the latest Ohio HAB report here.
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.
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.
US EPA Health Advisories for public drinking water specify the maximum threshhold for two common algal toxins, microcystins and cylindrospermopsins, liver toxins produced by cyanobacteria. Note these levels are health advisories, not legally enforceable regulatory limits. Two levels are identified, separating the population by age. The first level applies to pre-school aged children, the second level applies for those age 6 and up. The EPA health advisory gives the maximum level of toxin that would not produce negative health impacts over a ten day period. For microcystins, .3 ug/L under 6 yrs old; 1.6 ug/L for 6 and older. For cylindrospermopsins, the toxin associated with the HAB Aphanizomenon the level for preschoolers is .7 ug/L, for those 6 and up, 3 ug/L.
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