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8/8/2024
WT Staff
 August 8, 2024 336 pm CDT
HAPPENING NOW
Clear Lake monitoring program
WT HAB Tracker from state sources and where available, the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
California: Big Valley Pomo Indian Band have been monitoring Clear Lake for cyanobacteria blooms and toxins since 2012. WTCal HAS reached out for an update on the Clear Lake bluegreen status and latest toxin testing. More to follow.
The weekly Recent Bloom report for California is due out tomorrow, August 9. The last report, August 2 has seven water bodies with HAB DANGER-level advisories: Lago Los Osos, Lake Chabot, Lake Anza, Discovery Bay, Contra Loma Reservoir, Big Break Regional Shoreline and Copsey Creek. Three water bodies were posted last week 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 7 at wind speed 3.1 mph. This is a clear view of the southeast water bodies showing no HABs or too low concentration to visualize in Lake Pontchartrain, a large HAB forming in Lake Cataouache west half, and the Lac des Allemands widespread HAB in west bay lower in concentration than seen in the two prior images. Lakes Verret and Palourde appear as we have reported here over the last many 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. The Burnside pond is still at extreme high 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 thirty one active HABs are confirmed in New York State Thursday, a new report confirmed in Lake Superior and Miller Pond. A new batch of bluegreen blooms have been confirmed in Beaverdam Lake. All reports made prior to July 25 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.
The latest image in from NCCOS was snapped August 7, a clear image of Lake Champlain. The Baie Missisquoi HAB has escalated since our last view August 4, the hot spot along the northeast shore has magnified in area and concentration, up to 3 million cells per 100 ml. The southbound progression of this bloom has reached the midpoint of North Hero Island heading for the west side of the lake. The widespread HAB in St. Albans Bay appears in the same position in the inner bay along shore at 700 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Carmi in Vermont has reduced concentration down to 700 to 800 thousand cells per 100 ml.
Lake Erie west basin: Ohio, Michigan
The latest image from NCCOS was captured August 7 at wind speed 12.7 mph, a clear view of the west shoreline from Maumee Bay up the Michigan shoreline. Clouds obscure the view past Cedar Point. Maumee Bay State Park HAB 1 million cells per 100 ml with a hot spot developing on the shore of the point. The recreational public health advisory issued on July 19 for algal toxin has been rescinded, however, continue to exercise caution around this area of the lake. Sandusky Bay HAB Aphanizomenon is not visible in this image. The prior image taken August 4 shows the bluegreen algae dispersed through open water 500 to 600 thousand cells per 100 ml pattern. EPA guidelines for two common algal toxin are given below. See the last 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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