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1/2/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Region 2 Grant LaSalle Parishes at severe drought
USGS recording twelve extreme low flows
Water news for Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - last updated 221 pm CST
Streamflow Situation
Extreme low streamflows continue statewide, twelve stations are rated low Tuesday, one less than yesterday.
See the red-brown tags on the map for the low flow details.
Drought Map from USGS 7-day average streamflows compared to historic averages
Region 2 Grant and LaSalle Parish have descended into severe drought overnight, escalated from moderate drought Tuesday. Three areas of extreme drought appear in Louisiana as seen yesterday, one area on either side of the severe drought-rated area in Tensas River watershed Region 3, tracking down the Tensas River across the north boundary of Concordia Parish to the Catahoula Parish line. Tangipahoa River channel through Tangipahoa Parish in watershed in Region 7 is also rated with extreme hydrologic drought.
In Region 1, all surface area is now drought rated with no exceptions. The majority of Region 1 area is rated below normal broken by two areas of moderate drought along Bayou Pierre and along the Saline Bayou channel.
In Region 7, all area outside the Tangipahoa River watershed is rated below normal, excepting only the east side of Washington Parish, the one part of Region 7 unrated on the drought map.
Watershed regions 6 and 8 remain clear of the drought map, unrated.
Watersheds Region 4 and 5 persist in severe drought in all but Evangeline and Acadia Parishes, which have improved over the weekend from moderate drought to below normal.
Note 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.
Boil Water Advisories:
Terrebonne Parish BWA remains in effect for 34 customers following a water main break and repair on Friday. The customers impacted are those experiencing a loss of water pressure in the vicinity of 100 block Ja Don Dr.
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.
HABs Report from National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) satellite monitoring program
NCCOS image captured New Year's Day is mostly clear, taken at a low wind speed. No HABs are detected in this image. From the previous clear image, taken Dec 30 at low wind speed, some of the water bodies showed up with visible HAB activity. The following interpretations are made based on the Dec 30 image:
Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas appear clear of HAB activity. Lake Verret is clearly seen in this image with two large localized HABs off the west shore at 600 to 700 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Palourde has a HAB in the southwest appearing at similar concentration to the Lake Verret bloom. An area of dispersed HABs appear at midlake on Lake Palourde, similar concentration. Lac des Allemands, Bayou Fortier share an area of HABs, open water bloom below 500 thousand cells per 100 ml. Lake Cataouache and Lake Salvador appear free of HAB. Lake Lery widespread HAB extends from north shore to south shore for the middle section of the lake at 600 thousand cells per 100 ml. Check back daily for our interpretation of the latest satellite image of the southeast water bodies.
Hazardous Spills emergency and non-emergency incidents reported to Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Files released by LA DEQ this week include an incident from Ouachita Parish in Region 3. Initial report of a nitric acid spill impacting soil around Highway 2 at Sterlington did not offer a cause or source of the spill, not the amount spilled. More to follow.
Crude oil spill in the Gulf MPOG 11015 incident
The latest update on Main Pass Oil Gathering 11015 incident came to WTLA.us in an emailed statement on Dec 20, 2023 from the Unified Command under US Coast Guard management. From that email update, "There are no updates for the source of the November 16 spill, and the cause and source are still under investigation. The main pipeline and several surrounding lines remain shut in and have not been put back into service." Check back here for updates as we receive them.
The last press release from Unified Command came out December 5, 2023. As of that time, the entire length of the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) company's pipeline system has been examined and the source of the leak had not been found. Quoting from the Unified Command press statement of Dec 5, The cause and source of the incident remain under investigation. The entire length of the main pipeline has been assessed to date, along with 22.16 miles of surrounding pipelines with no damage or indications of a leak identified. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and divers continue to reassess the main pipeline and surrounding pipelines as a sustained effort to locate the source of the suspected release.
Dial 228-273-2400 for claims associated with this incident. To report oiled wildlife in the area, call the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at 337-735-8677. See the CWA Crimebox for a historic case brief related to a spill of 500 barrels of crude oil spilled in the Gulf in 2012. More to follow.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA role in supporting Unified Command
From the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration:
"In response to the crude oil release, known as the MPOG 11015 incident, a Unified Command was established by the USCG, the responding party MPOG, and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, in coordination with NOAA, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Forefront Emergency Management and other federal, state and local agencies to develop and execute a response strategy. For decades, the USCG and NOAA have played a joint role in ensuring vital operational support and response capabilities for oil and chemical spills. After the reports were received, OR&R began deploying to provide response support on-scene to the incident management team, the Federal On-scene Coordinator (U.S. Coast Guard), and Unified Command based in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.
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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.
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