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Real time data from monitoring wells in the Potomac
basin are now available online
from the USGS.
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Background
The Potomac River Basin is one of the regions of our country experiencing
rapid growth and development. According to Chesapeake Bay Program
estimates, population in the basin is expected to increase by 19.4%
from 2000 to 2020, and some areas of the basin, especially those
within commuting distance of Washington, DC, are projected to grow
much faster. A study conducted in 2000 by ICPRB for the Maryland
Department of the Environment forecast that by 2030, consumptive
water use in two basin sub-watersheds, the Monocacy and the Middle
Potomac Catoctin, could exceed available supply in the event of
a recurrence of historical low-flow conditions. Ground water is
an important source of drinking water in the basin, as well as being
an important source of flow for the basin's rivers and streams.
The drought of 2002 highlighted for all ICPRB member jurisdictions
the importance of water resources planning for the basin's future.
ICPRB has received funding from the Federal budget, via a grant
from the US Geological Survey, to conduct an assessment of ground
water resources in the Potomac River Basin. The purpose of the assessment
is to provide information and tools to assist jurisdictions in management
and planning involving ground water availability, with emphasis
on developing an integrated understanding of ground water and surface
water resources in the Potomac River Basin.
The report on the Monocacy basin pilot study is now available.
Please check our publications page for ICPRB
Report 04-04.
Overall Project Goals
 To locate
potential problem areas where more detailed studies or early management
action may be desirable
To assess
alternative methodologies for estimating water budgets/ground
water availability
To undertake
a basin-wide ground water resources assessment
Potomac Basin-Wide Activities
Real-time
ground water monitoring data from the USGS are available online
for 19 observation wells in the basin and 2 wells just outside
the basin (http://pa.water.usgs.gov/potomac).
A bibliography
on Potomac basin hydrogeology has been compiled. For more information,
please contact Jim Palmer.
Assessment
of water availability in the fractured bedrock system upstream
of Washington, D.C. is underway using streamflow data and the
annual and seasonal water budget techniques developed in the Monocacy
Basin pilot assessment (see below).
Monocacy Basin Pilot Assessment Activities
An assessment
of surface water and ground water availability was completed using
streamflow statistics, annual water budget techniques, and spatial
regression.
An assessment
of water availability using seasonal water budget techniques was
also completed.
The pilot
assessment successfully identified vulnerable sub-basins of the
larger Monocacy watershed.
An ICPRB
report has been published to describe the pilot assessment in
detail. The full report is available on our publications webpage
as ICPRB Report
04-04.
Focused regional studies
Monocacy
River basin: A regional groundwater
flow model is under development (partners: USGS,
MGS, MDE).
Opequon
Creek watershed: A regional groundwater flow model is under development.
VA USGS is the lead agency on this project, and the ICPRB groundwater
assessment project has been able to contribute some funds towards
this modeling effort.
Coastal
Plain aquifer: ICPRB convened a meeting
on June 14, 2005 of state and federal agencies to discuss
science and management issues. Additional work is ongoing to involve
local stakeholders in identifying potential projects and partners.
On March 9 2006, ICPRB hosted a meeting of regulators, local water supply planners and managers, and scientists, with presenters from Maryland Department of the Environment, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Maryland Geological Survey, and USGS - MD-DE-DC office and VA office to share information on the coastal plain groundwater system and to discuss common issues of concern. Download the program. Presentations will be available soon. A list of key issues were developed from the meeting's discussions. Several presentations from the workshop are available:
*Groundwater 101-ICPRB's Jim Palmer (758 KB file)
*Maryland: America in Miniature-Dave Bolton, US Geological Survey (5 MB PDF file)
*Virginia Groundwater Withdrawal Permit Program-Robin Patton, Virginia Dept. Environmental Quality
Page updated May 10, 2006
Download the Groundwater Fact Sheet 
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