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12/4/2023
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Drought conditions easing off
BWAs for Ben Thomas, Lake Arthur and Mermentau
Monday, December 4, 2023 - last updated 918 am CST
Boil Water Advisories:
St Tammany Parish issued a BWA on Saturday following a power outage. The boil order applies to all customers of the Ben Thomas Water System until further notice.
Lake Arthur issued a BWA over the weekend after an 8" main on the corner of Bliss and Arthur Avenue ruptured on Saturday. The BWA will be in effect until water testing determines no microbiological contamination entered the system during the outage and repairs.
Mermentau Water System had a major water line break late last week. A Boil advisory is in effect for all customers.
BWA remains in effect for Hayes and Monterey.
Drought Situation from USGS 7-day average streamflows
The Louisiana drought map shows relief Monday morning with one of three areas remaining at the extreme rating. Most of the north and southeast area is back to normal. The largest area of drought remaining in the south central and southwest Regions 4 and 5 is down to the below normal status with one streak of moderate drought along the Calcasieu River channel.
The Region 3 Tensas River channel east to the Mississippi River is the last area rated extreme drought. Tensas River is still recording a low-rated current streamflow, see the map for details. Region 1's Saline Bayou Channel is downgraded from extreme to severe, with all surrounding area appearing normal Monday. The Tangipahoa River channel in Region 7 is down from the extreme to a moderate hydrologic drought footing.
WaterToday reports day-to-day changes recorded by USGS streamflow monitors on rivers and tributaries located in Louisiana, along with monitors upstream in the Mississippi River basin: Ohio, Georgia and southwest New York state. USGS creates a drought map from 7-day average streamflow readings, by comparing the average with the historic weekly normal flow value for each location. The drought ratings are below normal, moderate hydrologic drought, severe drought and extreme drought.
Refer to yellow tags on the map for more BWAs in effect in the state of Louisiana. Also see the latest EPA Safe Drinking Water Act list of Serious Violators under the SDWA button to the right of the map.
Hazardous Spills emergency and non-emergency incidents reported to Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Crude oil spill in the Gulf
Unified Command is set to release another statement tomorrow, Tuesday Dec 5 regarding the 1.1 million gallons of crude oil discharged into the Gulf of Mexico on or around November 17.
The latest news from Unified Command press briefing Nov 28, "The Unified Command continues to monitor and respond to an oil discharge near the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) company's pipeline system, known as the MPOG 11015 incident, near Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans. The cause and source of the incident remain under investigation. Overflights conducted November 20 to date have observed no new oil from the suspected release. Recent wildlife and shoreline assessments identified no wildlife or shoreline impacts. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and divers are continuing to survey multiple pipelines in the area. More than 39.5 miles of the main pipeline have been inspected, with no damages or indications of a leak identified. ROVs have also inspected more than 6 miles of surrounding pipelines, also with no damages or indications of a leak identified.
A deliberate discharge of raw sewage is reported impacting Manchac Plantation Lake off Old Perkins Rd in Prairieville - Ascension Parish, watershed Region 5.
Note about hazardous spill incident reporting, from LDEQ: Information contained in the Field Interview form is the preliminary observation of the inspector. This should not be construed as a final determination of LDEQ, its officers or personnel as to any matter, including compliance or non-compliance with statutes, regulations and permits.
Each day of non-compliance is considered a separate violation of the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act.
See the pink tags on the map with the watershed layer turned on, showing the potential impact zone of hazardous spills in the environment. Refer to the Spills button on the right of the map for more incident reports filed this year.
HABs Report from National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
NCCOS image captured yesterday is completely cloud obscured. The last clear image was captured on Wednesday, November 29. This image shows widespread HAB in Lake Pontchartrain at 200 thousand cells per 100 ml.
From the last available image, Lac des Allemands and Bayou Fortier show lakewide HAB activity at the high concentration of 800 to 900 thousand cells per 100 ml with widespread HAB all the way down Baie Des Deux Chenes and Bayou des Allemands into Lake Salvador matching the color scale for a high concentration, 600 to 700 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Verret and Lake Palourde HABs rage on at similar appearance as last image, the high concentration HAB filling Lake Verret at 900 thousand to 1 million cells per 100 ml, the highest concentration at the south shore. The north shoreline has a clear spot on the west side and on the east side, a high concentration HAB now touches north shore. Lake Palourde HAB remains widespread or lakewide at a bit cooler concentration, 500 thousand cells per 100 ml.
Bluegreen location tags on our map give the interpretation of the last clear image available.
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