Residents of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area generally have the luxury of turning on the tap for cheap, pure water without worrying or even thinking about it. The reality would be much different without several decades of drought planning and preparation by the metropolitan area's water utilities and the ICPRB Section for Cooperative Operations for Water Supply on the Potomac (CO-OP). The CO-OP works with utilities to ensure the region has adequate raw water supplies from the Potomac, even in the face of growing demands. Learn more about Washington DC metropolitan area Water Supply.

Millions of people living in the Potomac River Basin are provided with safe drinking water every day. Meeting emerging challenges and ensuring a reliable supply for the future, however, requires vigilance and cooperation. By undertaking a collaborative approach, the unique Potomac Drinking Water Source Protection (DWSP) Partnership – almost two dozen water suppliers and government agencies – helps to ensure that people’s most basic need for clean, safe and abundant water is reliably met.

ICPRB maintains a Potomac river level monitor on the Potomac River at Edwards Ferry. Edwards Ferry is approximately 8 miles upstream of the mouth of Little Seneca, 16 miles upstream of Great Falls, and 26 miles upstream of Little Falls. This monitor measures the water level (stage) in the Potomac and sends it to ICPRB by wireless remote modem using CDMA technology. Information on stage at Edwards Ferry is used to predict river flow downstream at Little Falls, in order improve the efficiency of water supply releases from water supply reservoirs during droughts. Learn more about the Edward's Ferry Gage

ICPRB is working with stakeholders and resource managers to investigate whether there are ways to operate North Branch reservoirs to better balance the many uses of the Potomac River. The reservoirs play a critical role in a maintaining water quality in the North Branch, and they augment Washington, D.C. water supply during times of drought. Over the years, recreational activities--whitewater boating, on-lake boating, and fishing--have become more and more popular in the North Branch region. It has become more of challenge to balance these interests when setting reservoir outflows, especially during times of drought. ICPRB is supporting this process using an approach known as Shared Vision Planning. Our goal is facilitate studies of the important issues (e.g., fisheries health, recreation economic impacts), and use the results of those studies to develop reservoir operation plans that best balance all of the needs. Learn more about the North Branch Study.

Ground water is an important source of drinking water in the Potomac basin, as well as an important source of flow for the basin's rivers and streams. Population in the basin is expected to increase by approximately 20 percent from 2000 to 2020, and some areas, especially those within commuting distance of Washington, DC, are projected to grow much faster. ICPRB is working to develop a set of tools to help water managers assess the impact of future growth on ground water resources. Supported by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), ICPRB is constructing a groundwater/stream flow model of the upper Monocacy River basin. ICPRB is also continuing to develop its methodology for computing seasonal water budgets for Potomac basin watersheds. Learn more about Groundwater in the Potomac basin.

ICPRB is assisting the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) in its State Water Planning Effort effort by conducting water availability assessments for selected watersheds in the Pennsylvania portion of the Potomac River basin. The assessments are being done in coordination with PADEP, USGS, and other river basin commissions. Results for the Potomac are to be used by the State and by the Potomac Water Resources Regional Committee to help identify watersheds that merit designation as Critical Water Planning Areas.