Black River at Elyria, OH

Station ID: 04200500

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Hydrologic Conditions

The Black River at Elyria OH gage has a drainage area of 396 square miles and is located approximately 9 miles above where the Black River drains into Lake Erie.The Black River at Elyria OH gage has a drainage area of 396 square miles and is located approximately 9 miles above where the Black River drains into Lake Erie.

Sample Collection and Use

Stage and discharge are measured at Black River at Elyria OH gage along with selected water-quality parameters.  A water-quality sonde measures water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, and turbidity at 15-minute intervals and results are transmitted to USGS servers hourly through a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES).

Water-quality samples are collected throughout the range of hydrologic and chemical conditions. Water quality analyses include the following parameters: organic nitrogen, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, nitrate plus nitrite, orthophosphorus, total phosphorous, suspended sediment, and chloride.

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Why Continuous Monitoring is Important

The discharge of excessive amounts of nutrients from tributaries to the Great Lakes can cause harmful algal blooms and eutrophication. In 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to target problem areas, and accelerate and track the progress of restoration efforts.

The water quality information collected by the USGS at the Black River at Elyria OH gage will be used to monitor nutrient, chloride, and suspended sediment loading to Lake Erie in order to inform models used to predict harmful algal blooms and eutrophication, and to track changes in loadings over time that may result from changing climate, land use, and(or) agricultural practices.